Be Human
by MrBurke777
Summary: Join Jaeger-777, A.K.A "Sev", a SPARTAN II on his journey to discover what it means to be human. But the road he walks isn't easy, treachery and danger wait around each corner. And what happens when he gets a blast from the past?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. They belong to their rightful owners.**

 _Prologue_

 _Year – 2506_

 _Location – Unknown_

"We simply cannot ignore this threat!" a commanding female voice yelled.

In a dimly lit room, a crowd of people sit silently, listening intently for any sign of reply.

"What do you suggest we do? There are no viable solutions!" another voice replied.

Silent mummers could be hear within the crowd, each word laced with anxiety. Silence looms over the room, filling it with enough tension that a knife could have trouble cutting through. Another voice speaks up.

"We must act quickly, due to recent examinations of the Carver findings, the instability in the Outer Colonies are going to escalate. And fast! We must take action or we could have a bloody war of attrition on our hands!"

"Indeed, our projections have concluded that the inevitable war between the inner and outer colonies will culminate drastically by 2525" another agreed.

The lack of noise from before returned each person waiting desperately for an answer...

"I have a suggestion..." a new voice claimed.

All the attendees turn toward the new voice, a woman in her thirties, evidence enough from her somewhat youthful appearance, stands from the crowd.

"Very well Doctor, please proceed to the front and explain" the commanding voice spoke.

The woman proceeded slowly toward the front of the crowd of people, feeling their eyes upon her, all the while reassuring herself that her plan would work.

"Are you all aware of the ORION Project from 2506?" the woman asked

Everyone looked at each other silently, knowing the clear answer.

"We all have Doctor, and we are well aware that you know that we know." a crowd member replied condescendingly.

The doctor gave a cold glare toward the one that replied "The question was rhetorical sir, now please be silent and allow me to continue" the doctor responded.

The crowd member receded into their seat under the gaze of the rest of the crowd.

"As I was about to say, the project was originally conceived to counter insurrectionist forces. While initially successful, problems began to arise and the project was eventually abandoned" the doctor continued.

"How is this relevant to our current predicament?" someone asked.

 _Here we go, moment of truth..._ "I suggest that we reboot the project, but this time, we take an alternative approach." the doctor declared.

All was silent in the room, until the commanding voice spoke up.

"The Project was abandoned for numerous reasons doctor, how do you suggest we 'reboot' the project once more?"

"I believe that in time, I can create a force that can deal with the insurrectionists. However, in order for this to work, things have to be done my way" the woman responded.

Murmurs were uttered, and from what the woman could gather, it was a mixed response. _Well it could be worse_ she thought to herself. The doctor could feel the level of tension arise within the room. Eventually, the main voice of command finally replied "Enough".

The room fell silent upon his voice.

She continued "Doctor, with all due respect, are you certain that you can carry out this project? You're skills are undeniable but-"

"Before you continue director, this manifest will show you what the project consists of, and what it would yield" the woman interrupted.

She approached the woman with the manifest and handed it to her. She acknowledged the gesture with a curt nod. She opened the manifest and began the agonizingly slow process of reading it. The woman eyed the files with great concentration, reading every vital piece of information. After a long period of silent torture, she spoke up.

"Doctor, from what I've read in your manifest, there are many controversial methods included, controversial methods indeed. If we were to agree with your suggestion, can you say, without a doubt that you can carry out this proposal with an unshakable resolve and give us results?"

The doctor paused for a moment, then responded with a firm voice "Yes."

The murmurs began once again around the room, until the female voice of command cut them off.

"All those in favour of carrying out the Orion reboot?"

Almost all of the crowd raised their hands instantaneously.

"Very well, by the authority of the Office of Naval Intelligence council, we hereby give you authorisation to carry out your proposal."

The doctor released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding and replied "Thank you director".

And with that said, she began to walk toward the exit, until the female voice stopped her.

"Doctor Halsey"

The woman turned to face the woman at the head of the crowd.

"Yes?" she replied

"Don't let us down"

"Don't worry Parangosky, I won't"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. The rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Year – 2516, March 17th_

 _Location – Reach, Inner Colonies._

"Doctor Halsey!" a man yelled.

Halsey turned around to face the owner of the voice. She came across a dishevelled looking man with short, slicked back, black hair. The man possessed an aura of intelligence and respect, albeit with a level of clumsiness too.

"Yes Mike, what do you want?" Halsey inquired.

The professor took a moment to catch his breath, hunched over, hands on his knees. It took him a while but he eventually recomposed himself before replying.

"Agnes and I need your immediate presence in the main lab"

Halsey sighed before asking "What is it this time Professor?"

"Err... well we need some assistance compiling reports for the higher ups at ONI. They want to know how we're going to proceed from where we are." he replied sheepishly.

The doctor face palmed herself "Do you really need my help to perform such a mundane task?" She asked with an annoyed tone.

The professor frowned slightly at her choice of words. "I am a researcher not some low-level administrator." He responded rather heatedly.

Halsey gave him a cold glare, forcing a response from the agitated professor. "Not that I'm suggesting that you're more suited, its just that you have more experience with these kind of reports. And you are the creator of the entire project. So..." he continued hesitantly.

Halsey sighed once more before reluctantly speaking up "Very well professor, lead the way".

As Halsey and Mike were walking through the steel corridors of the research facility, many passer-bys whispered in hushed voices as they travelled to the main lab. Halsey, of course, knew that they were whispering about herself and her methods, however she ignored them as she was nearing her destination with the professor. They came to a stop in front of a large titanium door.

"We're here doctor, please follow me" the professor stated.

The duo entered the main lab, where there was a middle aged woman waiting for them.

"Mike! Where have you been! I've been waiting for half-an hour for you to get here you idiot! What took you so long?" the woman shouted.

After recovering from the unexpected outburst, the professor replied. "I had to look all over the facility for Halsey! I'd like to have seen you try to find faster than I did dammit!"

"Urgh! Nevermind. Anyway thank you for coming Catherine. I apologize for this morons idiocy. However he does speak the truth, we do need some assistance compiling this report" the aged woman responded.

"It's not a problem Agnes, I wasn't doing anything important anyway. So, what do you need?" Halsey inquired.

Professor Mike had a look of utter disbelief on his face as Halsey politely conversed with Agnes. _'What the hell?! I try asking for help and I get the cold shoulder and she just casually talks with Agnes like it's not a problem!'_ he thought to himself.

Agnes witnessed the professor's inner turmoil. She had an inkling as to what he was thinking about, which amused her to no end. But being the professional, she hid her amusement and decided to ignore him. "ONI have requested an update on how we're planning on selecting and gathering the candidates" she clarified.

"Very well Agnes, just write down what I say" Halsey replied.

Agnes prepared to start the report and Halsey cleared her throat before continuing.

"The candidates will be selected form the most desirable gene-pool while also fitting into a certain age group, namely the ages of 5 and 6. On top of that they must possess superior mental and physical capabilities compared to other children from their age group. The candidates are to be selected from DNA samples from the upcoming CAA Outer Colony vaccination programme. We have enough funding for 150 candidates, all of which will be replaced with flash clones to prevent any suspicions from being raised. Those clones will later die of natural causes and all records of the candidates previous lives are to be erased. The subjects will be transported to this facility where they will have their memories erased and altered, as well as removing their surnames. From that point they will be referred to by their given names and their serial number, to prevent any lapse of memory. Any further developments or plans will be included in the next report".

Agnes finished compiling the report and spoke to Halsey "That should appease the higher ups for now, thank you for the help Doctor".

The doctor began to take her leave before stopping at the door. "Agnes, Mike?"

she addressed

"Yes Doctor?" they replied in unison.

She turned to face them "Remember that this programme is very important. We cannot afford to make any mistakes, I want only the best on this project and nothing but absolute success. Are we clear?" She asked.

"Of course doctor" they replied.

"Good". And with that she left.

* * *

 _Year – 2517_

 _Location – Harvest_

The crisp, cold air of the night ripples through the trees of the forest, all the while a small household in a large filed of crops remains silent and still. Nights like these were not uncommon on Harvest, being a remote outer colony had its perks. One of which was the lack of any peculiar activity. Unfortunately, the tranquillity of the night was not to last.

Twigs begin to snap as four men emerge from the treeline, keeping a low profile, each laying prone to reduce visibility. They weren't really expecting to meet any resistance, but it was more along the lines of remaining undetected. If any of them were seen, it would prove to be most dire. None of them were were concerned though, they were all professionals, specifically selected to carry out the mission. One man brings out a pair of night vision binoculars and eyes the household in the distance before addressing the others.

"Sarge, target confirmed, about 600 meters from our position, in the Northwest. No sign of activity, all occupants must be asleep by now sir".

"Good job Private" he responded. "Alright men, you all know the drill, I want us in and out quickly, make sure the flash clone is ready for the insertion".

"Affirmative sir" they all replied.

The four men quickly took off toward the structure in the distance, making sure to be as covert as possible. In no time at all, they close the distance between them and the house in the crop fields swiftly. They reached the house, pausing at the back door, preparing the silent breach. The sergeant signalled the rest of the men to make the silent entry. One of the men knelt down before the door and began picking the lock. After a brief lapse of time and effort, the lock clicked open and they entered the house slowly. The squad stepped through the house interior, past the threshold of the door, their steps making the slightest of sound that one would have to strain to hear. They all stopped in what appeared to be the living room after their brief circumvention.

"Target is in the first room on the right, on the second floor".

"Confirmed, proceed quietly and stay alert".

The four men silently proceed to the staircase and begin ascending to the second floor. They reach the door of the first room on the right. The sergeant signalled the rest of the men and entered the room. They stopped at the bed and one of the men handed the sergeant a folder stamped 'CLASSIFIED'. The Sergeant opened the file and quickly read its content.

 _Subject – 777_

 _Name: Jaeger von Wolff_

 _Age: 5_

 _Height: 3ft 7in_

 _Weight: 18kg_

 _Hair Colour: Black_

 _Eye Colour: Blue_

 _Blood Type: O+_

 _Overall Suitability: Outstanding_

The sergeant paused before whispering to the other three men "Alright lads, lets make the switch".

 **There it is, the second chapter! I tried to keep it as lore friendly as possible, there may be some mistakes. If so then please leave a review. Next chapter is in progress and will be coming soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. The rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Year – 2522_

 _Location – Reach, Reach Naval Academy, Barracks_

"RISE AND SHINE BOYS AND GIRLS!"

Everyone in the barracks woke with a start at the loud voice. They quickly rose from their bunks with haste and stood at attention.

"Alright cadets lets start this day with a nice 50 mile march around the training grounds! I want everyone ready to leave by 0800 hours!"

Everyone in the room drew their attention to the owner of the voice. He wore a basic army camo BDU, with short buzz cut black hair and a look on his face that could insight fear into the bravest of men. They all had the pleasure of having him as their commanding officer and main instructor.

"Yes Sir! Officer Mendez Sir!" They all replied.

Mendez made a prompt exit once they replied.

After Mendez's departure, everyone in the barracks began preparing themselves for the gruelling 50 mile march. Since the beginning of their training, exercises like these were common. But despite that being the case, it was no less irritating. They all changed into their uniforms, a basic army green jumpsuit. One cadet spoke up to another once he finished changing into his jumpsuit.

"Why does he always have to be so loud?"

The cadet he was addressing turned to him with an emotionless expression.

"Maybe to drill some discipline into people like yourself" he replied with a monotonous voice.

The first cadet's face screwed up in agitation. "What's that supposed to mean?!" He retorted aggressively. The second cadet ignored his response. Before the angry cadet could say anything else a passing cadet pulled the angry cadet aside and whispered harshly in his ear.

"Calm down man! Do you have any idea who that is?!"

The angry cadet released himself from his grip. "No, why should I?" he asked heatedly.

The cadet looked to see if the cadet in question was still nearby. Thankful that he had moved away, he replied to the other cadet. "That's 777!"

The other cadets anger had dissipated by this point, but he was confused by the cadets remark.

"Should that mean anything to me?" he asked.

To say the other cadet was shocked was an understatement. "Have you been paying attention to anything while you've been here?!"

"Not really" the other replied.

He sighed greatly at his comment before continuing.

"That cadet which you foolishly attempted to provoke is one of the best in the entire SPARTAN programme!".

"I thought that was John".

He shook his head "Didn't you hear me? I said one of the best! Urgh, let me reiterate. John is at the top of the class, and 777 is just below. They both make fully trained ODST's look like amateurs".

The cadet hesitated slightly before replying "I'll keep it in mind".

"Cadets!" a female voice yelled.

The two cadets faced the new voice, a 'dumb' AI construct, Déja, who visualised out of a nearby terminal.

"Yes ma'am?" they asked in unison.

"You're late" she replied calmly.

The cadets looked around them to see the barracks empty. They looked worriedly at the clock on the wall. The time was 8:10am.

They exchanged quick glances at each other before running full-speed out of the barracks, leaving the AI by itself.

"My, my. They never learn. A SPARTAN should always be vigilant" she said to herself.

She flicked her hand toward the digital clock, which now read 7:45am.

* * *

"Don't you think you're pushing them too hard?"

Chief Petty Officer Mendez was overseeing the SPARTAN cadets, who were currently participating in their physical training. He along with Déja were watching over them through the observation window. The old soldier opted to keep his attention on the cadets as he responded to the AI.

"Dr Halsey wants them to be the best, I give them the guidance and the training to become the best. I have to push them to their limits and beyond to make them the greatest soldiers. It's the only way." Mendez replied.

"Be careful Franklin, if you push them too far, who knows what will happen".

"We cannot afford to be that careful Déja, we cannot afford to fail at this point. Besides, if they underwent the next phase unprepared, they would all die. They have to be ready for what is to follow. That's why I push them so far, they have to be at their best when the time calls for it. Despite my actions Déja, I truly do care about their well-being, not to sound to egotistical, but these cadets look up to me, and I will do the best I can to keep them safe" he explained.

Déja was silent for a moment. "What about 077 Franklin? What about him?" she asked.

Mendez felt a great sense of sorrow when he heard Déja say this. He sighed before speaking up.

"I can't do much for him at this point. If he would just open up to other people then maybe he wouldn't be the way he is. That has to change, a soldier can't always operate alone. Unfortunately, I don't know how to get him to open himself up to others. If there was a way, I'd have done it by now."

Déja could sense the sadness in his voice. Despite the man's hardened exterior, she knew, like he himself did, that he was greatly affected by the fact he couldn't help the boy. He was always a social outcast, even when he first arrived here. It was probably a defect in the memory serum. He had no one to confide in. As a result he was alone most of the time. Other cadets feared him for his abilities, but they couldn't see the emotional turmoil that raged within the boy.

"Hopefully my teachings will help him in the future. Maybe he can finally find someone to get along with for a change" Mendez said.

Déja knew what he meant. Even though his training was demanding, brutal even, Mendez always made sure to instil discipline, honour and respect into the young SPARTANS. He taught them how to kill, but also taught them what was right and what was wrong. He wanted to teach them the difference between murder and killing to protect others.

Déja sighed "Training's over Mendez"

Mendez simply nodded to this and left to confront the SPARTAN cadets.

He reached the steel door to the training area. He paused briefly before opening the door. Past the threshold of the now open door were the SPARTAN cadets, dripping in their own sweat, with haggard breaths, save two.

Mendez knew that the exercise wouldn't be enough for the two of them, but wanted them to participate to keep it fair. He didn't want to show favouritism after all.

"Outstanding cadets! That's enough for today, hit the showers and get some rest, you got a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Dismissed!" he added while giving a salute.

"Sir!, Yes Sir!" they all yelled.

As they all began to leave, Mendez spoke up once more. "John!, Jaeger!"

Both cadets in question halted immediately at his words. They proceeded to stand at attention in front of him.

"Sir?" the duo inquired.

"Good job during training cadet's, but that was the easy part. I hope you're ready for what is to come gentlemen".

They both stole a quick glance at each other.

"Sir, I am ready and able for whatever awaits me the future" John-117 replied.

"As am I Sir" Jaeger responded, sharing the same tone as John. A soldier's tone.

Mendez smiled inwardly at the pairs eagerness, despite the fact they didn't show it, he could sense it hidden beneath the emotionless mask they put on. Being a soldier himself, he was an expert at reading other people, other soldiers.

"Good, dismissed cadets!" he saluted.

As the duo make their leave, Mendez attracts their attention once more.

"One more thing cadets. What is your main directive?"

The duo turned to face their commanding officer and gave him the answer he was hoping for.

"Sir! The protection of humanity at any cost, Sir!"

* * *

 _Year – 2525_

 _Location – Reach, CASTLE research facility._

"Alright, this is it cadets. This is what you've been training for, it's time for you to stop being cadets, and become real soldiers! IT'S TIME TO BECOME A TRUE SPARTAN!"

"SIR!, YES SIR!"

Mendez faced the cadets. It's been eight years, eight years since all the cadets came in as children. Now it is time for them to become SPARTAN's. He had never been more proud in his entire military career, to have the chance to guide these cadets to become the protector's of humanity. Through all the gruelling marches, treks and exercises; the blood and the sweat, he had come to respect the young cadets a great deal. Through thick and thin they had become a solid fighting force. But now... Now it was finally time.

"Alright cadets, lets double time it!" Mendez ordered.

Mendez began to lead the cadets toward the next phase of the programme. On the outside he was as calm as he always puts on. But beneath all that, he was afraid. Afraid of what would happen to the cadets. He knew it was only natural to feel this concern for them, after all he practically raised them, even if it was to make them the best damn soldiers in the UNSC.

The group stopped in front of a large titanium door. Mendez, already knowing what was on the other side, tried to relieve his anxiety. With the best of his efforts he turned to face the cadets without showing what he was truly feeling.

"This is where I take my leave cadets, what resides behind this door is for you, and you alone to face. You will be called by your serial numbers, one by one. I'm not gonna lie cadets, some of you may not survive. But know that no matter what happens, know this" he paused slightly "It has been an honour to have trained each and every one of you".

All of the cadets stood at attention and saluted him, each saying the same thing.

"Likewise, Sir!"

Mendez couldn't have felt more pride than he did at that moment. But at the same time, he felt a great amount of pain. His cadets had no idea what was about to happen. He didn't have the heart to tell them, even if he was authorised. Removing the painful thoughts from his head, he bade one final goodbye to the young men and women he had come to see as his own children.

"Good luck soldiers!" he yelled.

"Sir, Yes Sir!"

Mendez took his leave, and proceeded back to the entrance of the corridor. Before closing the door he thought to himself _Goodbye cadets._ He pressed the door control, letting it close.

When 777 heard the door close behind him, he felt a strange feeling of foreboding form in the pit of his stomach. As he was trying to deduce why he felt this way a voice filled the room.

"Spartan-001, please proceed".

The door in front of the cadets quickly opened. The Spartan in question, who was standing at the front of the group, made his way through the door. Once he did so, it quickly closed behind him.

Sev let out a quiet sigh, giving himself a brief thought _This is gonna take a while._

* * *

After an excruciatingly long wait the voice burst through the room once more.

"Spartan-777, please proceed".

Sev promptly passed the door, as he passed it closed as quickly as it opened. He made his way down a long steel-lined corridor, the feeling of foreboding had increased drastically. _What the hell is wrong with me? I am a soldier, soon to be a Spartan. I shouldn't be feeling this way_ he thought to himself. Whilst scolding himself, he only just noticed that he reached the end of the corridor. In front of him stood another titanium door. It opened itself for him and he passed the new room's threshold, removing the doubt from his mind.

In his sight was a strange array of medical equipment, along with a small group of people, presumably scientists from what he could tell, judging from their lab coats. One of them, a young woman, gestured to the soon-to-be-Spartan to lie down on the medical table. He briefly gazed upon the table, noticing small amounts of red specks. Blood. Despite this he still laid himself down on the table. He couldn't back out now, not after coming this far. The scientists then proceeded to strap him down onto the table by his arms, legs, chest and neck. Every limb was restrained. _This is probably going to hurt. A lot_ he thought.

When the scientists finished strapping him to the table, the woman gave a small nod, at which another scientist typed into the medical apparatus. The table immediately lifted itself to a 45° angle. Once it was finished adjusting itself, multiple robotic arms burst to life and positioned themselves around the Spartan.

"Proceed"

Once these word were uttered Sev felt the most excruciating pain he had ever felt as multiple needles from the mechanical arms jabbed into him. It was like his entire body was dropped into a pool of liquid hot magma. He screamed at the top of his lungs and writhed in pain, despite the resistance met from the restraints. _Holy Crap! My bones feel like they're melting!_ He tried thinking to himself to dull the pain. It didn't work. After about five minutes, the agonizing pain finally passed. _Well thank god for that, it's over_ he thought to himself once more.

"First stage complete Doctor Halsey, proceeding to the next stage"

 _Crap, spoke too soon._

"Sedate him, the first stage is nothing compared to the next stage" Halsey ordered.

Before Sev could get a thought into what Doctor Halsey said, he began to feel darkness loom over him.

"Sedation complete, vitals are normal Doctor"

"Good, lets start the surgery"

* * *

Sev groggily awoke from his state of unconsciousness, attempting to lift himself from his current position. As he was doing so he noticed many long scars dotted around his body, namely his wrists forearms, legs and his chest. Sev was initially shocked at this, before someone broke his thoughts.

"Ah, good you're awake"

Sev turned his gaze toward a woman, the same woman who was present, at what he could presume was a 'medical examination'. He tried to speak, but felt that his throat was constricted.

"Here, drink this" she said as she handed him a glass of water.

Sev was hesitant to accept the water. Even if he saw Halsey as an ally, like all the other cadets, a soldier could never be too careful. Halsey noticed his hesitation, and spoke her mind.

"Don't worry 777, I spent a great deal of time trying to improve you abilities, I wouldn't dream of giving you poison"

With this clarification, he accepted the drink. He raised the glass to his lips and allowed the water to flow down his parched throat. Once the feeling of dehydration passed, he realised something that Halsey had said.

"Wait, did you just say 'improved my abilities'?" he inquired.

"Yes, you along with the rest of your fellow cadets underwent the same procedure. Augmentation"

"Augmentation?"

"In short, the process included improving eyesight, bone strength, muscle mass and heightened reflexes" she clarified.

Sev was still confused "What was all this for ma'am?" he asked.

"You are the next step in evolution, humanity's next step as a species. You will be its protector, along with your other Spartans, from those who threaten our existence"

Sev understood immediately _This is what I was trained for, stop being so inquisitive Jaeger! A good soldier never questions his orders!_ he thought to himself.

He removed himself from the bed he had apparently been resting on. It was at that moment he realised he was in a hospital room. But still, one thing was missing.

"Where is everyone else ma'am?" he asked

Halsey sighed as she faced Sev to tell him the cruel outcome.

"I'm afraid not everyone survived the process, only 33 of the Spartans remain"

Sev was completely unfazed at this revelation, but despite this, a small part of him hoped that John-117 survived. He ran a hand over his head and noticed something out of place.

"Ma'am, what's wrong with the back of my head" he asked.

"That would be a Neural Interface ,777. It allows the integration of an AI construct into the subjects nervous system, optimising their combat abilities" she clarified.

"I see. So when will I get my own AI?"

"Soon Spartan, soon".

 **There we go, the third chapter! Thanks for reading, next chapter coming soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. The rights belong to their rightful owners.**

 _Year – 2525, February 2nd_

 _Location – Reach, CASTLE Research Facility._

"ATTENTION!"

Simultaneous thuds echo in throughout the room as the command is heeded.

"As you can see agent, they are completely obedient to orders. When they are given an order, they follow it without question. They're also fully capable in combat situations"

A grey haired man faced his addresser "Are you certain about this Chief Petty Officer Mendez?"

The man in question replied neutrally, but it wasn't difficult to detect the heated undertones. "If you have any doubts Agent, then you could always try provoking one of them, experience their combat capabilities first-hand".

The ONI agent shuddered slightly at the officer's words, but quickly forced it out of his system. "Is that some sort of threat Officer Mendez?"

Mendez smirked slightly at the agent's question. "Of course not agent, I'm just stating the facts as they are. If I were, you would most definitely know"

The agent showed a level of frustration as Mendez said this. He knew that he'd get nowhere with this man, and although he wouldn't admit it out loud, the agent was rather anxious about the soldier's abilities. Even though he hadn't even seen them in action, the mere sight of the giants in front of him was enough to incite fear. Either way, he needed to see them in action, the brass at ONI wouldn't allow mission failure, no matter the objective.

At that moment, one of the doors leading to the room opened, revealing a woman in a white scientist's vest. She entered the room and the ONI agent approached her.

"Ah, good. You're here Doctor Halsey" the agent remarked

Halsey gave him a questioning look "Is there something I can help you with agent?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact there is. The higher ups want to see how successful you're little 'experiment' was. They want to see them in action" he remarked.

The agent could sense some hostility emanating off Halsey as he said this, but he pushed froward nonetheless. "If you want ONI to continue funding this project and others that you may be planning, we need some form of insurance. We need to know if our investment was worthwhile"

Halsey remained calm on her exterior, but inside, she was absolutely furious at the agents insolence.

 _How dare he! I have put too much into this project to be cut loose now! I have no choice, I have to play along with this mindless charade. But maybe...yes, that's it_ she thought to herself.

"Very well agent. If you want results, then I need some more time. Project MJOLNIR and Project YGGDRASIL have to be completed if you want the best results".

The agent had an expression of contemplation on his face as Halsey said this to him. He was in dilemma, his superiors wanted to know the full extent of the soldiers capabilities before deploying them to combat the insurrectionists. However, he also knew that they wanted the best performance out of them as well. After a few moments of searching for the best solution, nothing came to him.

"I'm sorry doctor but I cannot leave without some from of evidence of their supposed abilities".

Seemingly ignorant of the agent's response, Halsey turned her attention toward her pride and joy. She approached the subjects in question, her SPARTANS. In her view were an assortment of 6ft men and women, all with paled skin and vibrant iris's from the augmentation process. Their expressions were completely neutral, proving that the emotional suppressor enhancement was functioning perfectly. Halsey smiled inwardly at her creations, she knew that they would be the first stepping stone to many scientific discoveries. Humanity's next step as a species. Even though she prided herself over all of the SPARTANS, only two truly received the majority of her attention. She walked toward those two SPARTANS. John-117 and Jaeger-777, the greatest of her creations.

It was at that point, that she had an ingenious idea spring up into her mind. The agent wanted a show, then she'd give him a show. She quickly turned to address the ONI agent.

"Agent, you were saying that you wanted to see what my SPARTANS are capable of?" she asked.

The agent glanced at the doctor and replied in earnest "Yes Doctor, that is the whole purpose of my presence here."

"If that's the case, then any combat situation should do. Correct? Perhaps I could show you but a fraction of their abilities?" she offered.

The agent hesitated slightly. He still had the feeling of fear of the SPARTANS, and he had no idea what the doctor had in mind. The doctor was correct in assuming that any combat situation would do. With this in mind, he was unable to refuse Halsey's vague suggestion.

"As you wish doctor. Any combat scenario will do." he replied.

Halsey smiled to herself, before gaining the attention of Chief Petty Officer Mendez.

"Mendez, I want you to order 117 and 077 to spar with each other. The agent wants a show, so lets give him what he wants".

"Mendez saluted to the doctor. "By your order Ma'am. Sierra-177! Sierra-777! Centre of the room on the double!" he ordered.

John and Sev proceeded toward the centre of the room. The remaining SPARTANS took heed of what was about to happen and moved to the edges of the room with haste. No one, not even SPARTANS wanted to get in their way. The two SPARTANS stopped in front of each other, each giving the other a calculating stare. Analyse and formulate a strategy, the first rule to engaging in combat. But neither were fazed, and readied themselves into a combative stance. A brief amount of time passes as the room falls deathly quiet.

"Begin!" Mendez yelled.

At Mendez's command, both SPARTANS were a blur as they charged at each other. Not a mere second passes, and they're already engaged in combat. Fists fly, each blocked with inhuman speed by both SPARTANS, neither giving ground to the other. The display of skill placed the ONI agent in utter disbelief, the power both awed him and scared him to his wits end. He could barely see the direction of the attacks. _My god, what the hell is this?! These things aren't human at all! They're monsters!_ he thought to himself. Whilst the agent was in shock, Halsey and Mendez just had an expression of what only could be satisfaction. They knew that this would happen, both of them were certain without a doubt that this would be enough to put the agent back into place.

The fistfight raged on, the signs of fatigue showing on neither of them. Both had clear minds with only one objective in mind. Victory. This was motivation enough for them to unleash their full power. With no clear victor in sight, the two SPARTANS resorted to other forms combat, each resorting to various forms of martial arts; kicks, grapples and choke holds alike were used, but with the same outcome, neither could gain the upper hand. They both knew this, so they broke off their attacks and began circling each other, their expressions remaining neutral as they did so. Their steps were light, remaining on their guard for any sudden movement. What seemed like a passing of seconds, were like hours in the minds of the onlookers. The circling finally broke as the two re-engaged each other, with one clear tactic for victory. A myriad of punches and kicks flew once more until they ceased just as quickly as they started.

The agent could stop the gasp that escaped through his mouth as he looked upon the sight before him. Both SPARTANS held combat knives to each others throats, holding their ground. The agent couldn't comprehend when or where they got their weapons from, but he was the only one in this state. The other SPARTANS knew exactly what happened. Both of the combatants had pulled out the weapons from their boots, exactly what the other SPARTANS would of done. Having a weapon is a sure found way of achieving victory in a fistfight. Especially if said weapon was designed for close quarters. Naturally, only they witnessed it, thanks to their augmented eyesight. John and Jaeger kept the knives at each others throats until their trainer spoke up.

"That's enough men, the agent has seen enough. Stand down" Mendez calmly ordered.

The duo complied immediately and returned their combat knives into their boot sheaths. They gave each other small nods, out of respect for the others performance. There was little need for verbal communication amongst SPARTANS, they learnt how to speak to one another through body language alone. With that done, they and the rest of the SPARTANS returned into their ranks.

"Are you convinced enough agent?" Halsey asked rhetorically.

The agent was broken out of his state of shock by Halsey's voice. He glanced at Halsey and hesitantly replied, trying to hide his disbelief.

"Yes Doctor, that will be enough for now" he said with an unfocused voice.

The agent took his leave after leaving his verdict, legs shaky as he took each step. It seemed like the short duel made quite the impression on the man. The door closed swiftly behind him as he finally exited the training room. The doctor, unusually satisfied at putting the audacious ONI operative in his place, addressed the only other non-SPARTAN in the room.

"Alright Mendez, that will be all for now. They have an important engagement for tomorrow, they need their rest".

Mendez saluted Halsey "As you wish Ma'am".

Mendez moved to face the SPARTANS "That's enough for today. Dismissed!"

The SPARTANS saluted their commanding officer "Yes Sir!".

* * *

 _Swarms of incomprehensible voices echoed throughout complete darkness, only a few could be heard clearly. "Let's make the switch". That was one of the voices that kept on appearing,whispering through the darkness. Next was the immeasurable pain, over and over again, never ceasing, like the fiery hot flames of hell fire._

" _Wake up son"._

Jaeger awoke with a start, drenched in his own sweat. He wiped his forehead with his arm, and found that he was in the presence of another. He looked up to see Mendez crouching at his side. Jaeger quickly realized that Mendez must have been trying to speak to him, so he spoke up.

"Sorry sir, were you saying something" he asked.

Mendez smiled at the young man's question. "I was trying to wake you up Sev, it's 0900 hours, time for breakfast".

Jaeger jumped out of his bunk and dressed himself, from Mendez's point of view, with inhuman speed. This didn't surprise him though, since Jaeger was a super soldier now. Jaeger gave a quick salute to Mendez before taking off to the mess hall, leaving Mendez in the barracks.

 _Poor kid_ he thought. He didn't tell Jaeger that he had witnessed what the young soldier experienced. He saw Jaeger struggling in his sleep, whispering the same words ' _Let's make the switch_ '. He knew that he was having nightmares about the day he was taken from his home. Mendez was saddened at the boys situation, he may be a soldier, but he still had a heart, he could still feel. He was saddened by the fact that the boy could not live a normal life, but it was not his place to question or do anything about it. All he could do was pray that the young man could find something to live for, not just warfare, but something that is truly worthwhile. Shaking these melancholic thoughts out of his mind he left the barracks to face the SPARTANS in the mess hall.

* * *

Jaeger sat down at the nearest table, which also happened to be devoid of any occupants. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even Halsey or Mendez, he felt somewhat lonesome. Naturally he didn't know what said feeling was, the emotional suppressor saw to that. A few minutes into what could barely pass as food, he could feel the gaze of a familiar presence.

He looked up to see the face of his rival, John. John made a gesture, which Jaeger interpreted as a polite request to sit. Jaeger nodded and John sat down. That was what he liked about John, he was a man of few words, a worthy rival. Both in regards to his personality and his combat prowess, which exceeded his own. Despite not admitting it, Jaeger truly enjoyed his arrival. All he ever wanted was someone to be around, and John filled that vacancy. They both ate in silence, ignoring the background chatter between the other SPARTANS. Before any of them could finish their meals, a voice that struck each of them as familiar echoed through the mess hall.

"Alright SPARTANS listen up!"

As soon as the order was given, each SPARTAN stood at attention as soon as the voice gave the command. Footsteps echoed throughout the now silent room. As they came to a stop, the SPARTANS looked at their addresser. In their sight was Mendez. He gave them a quick salute, to which the SPARTANS returned. Mendez continued to speak.

"We just got word from NAVSPECWARCOM. It's time for you all to face some real action! You are to report to the war room for debriefing. Dismissed!"

The SPARTANS heeded their commanding officer's order and proceeded to the war room. As they all walked, all was silent. Each SPARTAN had the same shared view of their orders, they all knew that this was it, it was time for them to prove themselves. The super soldiers arrived at the war room in record time, and proceeded to enter.

They all filed and ordered themselves into rank, thanks to years of habit. Once the last SPARTAN fell into rank, Mendez made his appearance before them. He went on to input a command into the logistics computer. Once this was done, the room was filled with a faint blue light as a holographic projection of what seemed to be their objective appeared in front of them.

Mendez cleared his throat "This SPARTANS is a small outer colony planet known as Harvest. An emergency communication was sent out from the space station orbiting the planet. The communication mentioned that the planet was attacked by an unknown enemy. This enemy, as far as we know, are not insurrectionists. We have reason to believe that this new threat is not human, and by the contents of the communication, to be met with extreme prejudice".

He paused at this point, and punched in a new command into the computer. The hologram changed into a compilation of small settlements.

"This SPARTANS, is your objective. You are to evacuate all civilian personnel from the planet by extraction via pelican. Any hostile is to be eliminated as a secondary objective, but your main priority is the safety of the civilians. Due to the sensitive nature of your current existence, only a select few of you will go planetside. The rest of you are to remain on standby on the UNSC _Behemoth_ , which will remain in orbit. The following SPARTANS are to remain in this room" Mendez stopped his debrief and pulled out a data pad.

He continued "SPARTANS 117, 087 and 777, are to remain here. The rest of you, gear up and head to the hangar. I want you ready for combat, even if you aren't needed. Dismissed!".

The other SPARTANS gave a quick salute and left the room, leaving the remaining three with Mendez. The grizzled soldier faced the young soldiers.

"You know what's at stake here you three, we must save as many as possible. You will proceed to the armoury, where you will receive your equipment. Are we clear?" he asked.

The trio replied with a salute "Sir, Yes Sir!"

Mendez returned the salute and spoke once more "Good, Dismissed!".

* * *

John, Kelly and Jaeger were walking in silence down a long steel walled corridor. None of them needed to utter a word, they already knew what was at stake here. They continued to walk, until the they were met with a large metal door. As if on queue, it opened for them and they all stepped inside.

The room was filled with a large assortment of weaponry, along with boxes upon boxes filled to the brim with bullets and grenades. They all heard someone clear their throat, and were met with a welcomed sight that was all too familiar to them all.

"Welcome John, Kelly, Jaeger."

They all spoke in unison as they acknowledged the new voice.

"Doctor Halsey".

"I wanted to give you a small gift before you all left. If you will all please follow me, and I'll show you" Halsey said warmly.

The trio nodded, and followed as Halsey she led them to sealed door. She stopped at the door and spoke with a blank voice.

"Voice command authorization, Doctor Catherine Halsey".

A small beep sounded as Halsey gave the command, after which the door opened to them.

Halsey continued into the newly opened room, with the three SPARTANS behind her. She lead them to three particular items that surprised even the SPARTANS, to a certain extent of course. SPARTANS were trained to expect the unexpected.

"May I present to you, the MJOLNIR MkIV armour!" she exclaimed.

In front of the SPARTANS were three sets of MJOLNIR armour. One was coloured dark, army green. Another coloured light blue with stripes of white along both arms. The last of the armour was coloured black, with dark crimson stripes along the right arm, and the right side of the torso, stopping short of the waist.

"This one is yours Kelly" Halsey said pointing to the light blue armour "This one is yours John" now pointing at the dark green armour "And this one is yours Jaeger" now gesturing to the black armour.

Each SPARTAN approached their 'gifts' as Halsey stated. All felt a level of gratitude toward the doctor.

"Thank you Doctor Halsey" the three said in unison.

Halsey smiled, pleased at their response, spoke to them.

"I hope you'll find them useful. Now, before you put them on, you'll need these" she said as she handed them three black rubbery suits of various sizes "These are nanacomposite suits, they will provide a small level of protection and will function mainly for comfort whilst wearing the suit. If you will please follow me again, change into those suits and try wearing your new armour".

The trio acknowledged Halsey's suggestion, and proceeded to follow her once more. She led them to three, separate curtained off areas. The three of them took the hint and entered separate rooms.

A few minutes pass and the three are now dressed with the nano-suit covered with grey BDU trousers, leaving the torso with only the nano-suit covering that area. Halsey gestured for them to follow her, and they complied. They were now in front of the armour sets once more. With a small measure of pause which passed after a few moments as they took in the aesthetics of their battle suits, the three of them went on to fit the armour on. Seemingly out of nowhere, mechanical arms sprung from the ground, disassembling the intimidating marvels. Not knowing what to do next, they glanced back at the doctor, who sensed what they where going to ask.

"Now just step into the displayed area. The automatic assembly unit will do the rest." she explained.

They complied, stepping past the small squares of yellow that surrounded the AAU's. The mechanical arms, sensing new arrivals set to work immediately. In no time at all the AAU's power down, and the three SPARTANS step out of the designated areas. Fully armoured and ready for combat. Each of them were now towering, even more so than they did with the armour off. All that was left was their helmets, all of which with a vibrant orange visor. The SPARTANS were looking at themselves in their knew armour, each impressed with its lightness, and its appearance. Their inspection was broken short when Halsey addressed them again.

"That will be all you three, you may go now".

"Thank you again doctor" they all said.

With a salute, they turned to leave, collecting their respective helmets. As they were doing so, Halsey's voice interrupted their departure.

"Jaeger, could I borrow you for a moment?" she asked.

Jaeger glanced quickly at John and Kelly, who gave him a short nod. With that done, John and Kelly left Jaeger with Halsey.

"Is there a something else Doctor Halsey?" he asked inquisitively.

Halsey smiled slightly at his question, and gave a warm response "Actually, I had one more gift for you Jaeger, something to guide you and keep you alive on your mission".

Jaeger was slightly confused at the Doctor's reply "What is it Ma'am?" he asked.

Instead of giving a reply, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a strange looking data chip. She handed the data chip to Jaeger, who inquired once more at the strange gift he received.

"What is this Ma'am?"

Halsey smiled once more at Jaeger "Why it's your new AI of course".

 **Here you go, the fourth chapter, with a new character! Please leave some feedback on what you think so far, bear in find this is my first time writing a Fanfiction, so some reviews on improvements are always welcome. I'll try to upload the next chapter as soon as I can, but until then please bear with me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. The rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Year – 2525, 3 February_

 _Location – UNSC Behemoth, Barracks High Orbit, Harvest_

"So you're my new AI?"

A blue avatar burst to life.

"That's right!" the avatar exclaimed.

Jaeger took in the manifestation of the AI. It's appearance was... not what he was expecting. The avatar was that of a young woman, by the looks of it a teenager. She, or 'it', had a youthful round face and had long, wavy hair, put up into pigtails. The avatar was adorned with a standard UNSC officer's uniform. He frowned at all this, _Of all the AI matrices I could of received, why does mine look so childish and undisciplined._

The AI noticed Jaeger's strange expression. "What's the matter?" she asked in a concerned tone.

He was startled by the AI, with both her question and the concern in her voice.

"Nothing, it's just you're not what I was expecting." he answered truthfully.

The AI pouted at this "Well what were you expecting?" she replied heatedly.

Jaeger kept up his neutral façade, but he was taken aback by the way she responded. He stood there, with the AI in hand, for a few moments, contemplating the best way to reply. He didn't want to piss the AI off, since it would be helping him complete his objective on the planet below.

"Err..." he responded numbly.

The AI crossed her arms and jerked her head away from him. "That's what I thought." she said triumphantly.

Jaeger couldn't believe what just happened. Here he was, a genetically augmented super soldier, with superior strength, reflexes, intelligence, among many other things. Now, an AI put him in his place and all he could say was 'Err!'.

"You're right. I'm sorry I misjudged you"

Jaeger had to resist quickly clamping his hand to his mouth, so he opted to set his jaw into a tight line, teeth almost cracking under the pressure. _What the hell is wrong with me! I shouldn't be apologizing, especially to an AI! I am a SPARTAN. A soldier. It's about god damn time I start acting like one._

"Hey, are you OK?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts immediately. He glanced to the AI, she had yet another concerned expression. No matter how hard he tried, the AI kept throwing him off balance.

"Yes, I'm fine." he replied.

The AI scrunched up her face at his answer but It quickly dissipated into a more surprised look.

"I just realized something. I don't know your name."

Jaeger looked at the AI once more. _Well it couldn't hurt to at least be courteous_ he thought.

"Sev" he said shortly

"Sev? That's not a name, tell me your real name." she replied with an annoyed tone.

He hesitated slightly, he only told people he could trust his real name, only John, Halsey, Mendez and his SPARTAN brothers and sisters knew his real name. He gave a quick glance toward the AI, one look at her was enough to tell him that she was trustworthy, yet he had no idea why.

"Fine be like-" the AI started.

"Jaeger, my name is Jaeger" he said quietly, bordering along a whisper.

The AI smiled at his reply, she knew SPARTANS are wary, and slow to trust new people. Jaeger's profile stated he was one of the most stubborn of the super soldiers. Hence the reason why she was glad that he gave her his name, it meant that he trusted her. Realising that she hadn't spoken up, she quickly gave him her name.

"My name is Athena. It's nice to meet you." she replied cheerfully.

Jaeger didn't know why, but he was glad to know the AI's name. _Maybe it's because we're going to be working together from now on_ he thought to himself. It was at that moment he realised he was standing silently staring at Athena. He quickly tore his gaze away from her, looking out of a nearby window at the vast expanse of space and tried to think of something to say.

"So... why me?" he asked.

"Hmm... that's a good question. Doctor Halsey thought it was a good idea, so if she put us together, then it must have been a good idea." she replied earnestly.

Jaeger smirked at her response. _She may have a bit of an attitude, and a complete disregard for authority and lack of respect. But she's right, if Halsey gave her to me, then that's reason enough_ he thought. _Hang on..._

"You know, you're not like other AI's. I can tell, there's something different about you, something... unique." he said inquisitively.

Athena's face lit up brightly "How perceptive of you Jaeger. That's right, I am unique. I'm not like other AI's. My Riemann Matrix, or 'brain' to put it simply, was recovered from an ancient Forerunner artefact from Onyx in 2511. Halsey personally oversaw my development. The details are quite extensive, I don't want to waste your time with the details, but in short, rampancy won't be a problem for me in the future. Not only that, but my processing power is equivalent to that of three 'smart' AI's combined!" She explained with an explosive finish.

"I see, that's good." Jaeger said plainly.

Athena pouted once more at this "Well at least sound a little impressed."

"I am. It's just that SPARTANS like myself must contain our emotions and keep our opinions to ourselves. Showing our emotions is a weakness, in battle and out of it.

Athena frowned at his explanation. "But emotion is what makes you human! Without emotion, you might as well be a machine!" she responded desperately.

Jaeger raised an eyebrow at this. "Coming from an AI?"

Now that ticked Athena off. She may be an AI, but she was a 'smart' AI, meaning she could feel emotion, just not to the extent of human emotions. "Hey! If that's you're mindset, then you might as well be the AI!" she replied angrily.

Jaeger wasn't happy at this. An AI just called him, from what he could infer, a mindless machine. He was about to retort, but stopped himself. _I shouldn't get angry over this. I am a SPARTAN. I have to keep myself under control._ He decided on the best course of action.

"If that's what you think."

Athena's eyes widen at his response. She knew SPARTANS have difficulties dealing with social interaction, especially in Jaeger's case, but his reply was so... mechanised. She was about to speak up, but a sudden outburst over the shipboard comm unit interrupted her.

"Will SPARTAN-777 please report to hangar 5-B. I repeat, will SPARTAN-777 please report to hangar 5-B."

Jaeger looked at Athena. "Let's go."

Athena nodded quickly, and Jaeger inserted the data chip into his neural interface. He felt a strange rushing sensation course throughout his body. He quickly shook it off and headed to hangar 5-B.

* * *

Jaeger entered the Hangar, noticing an officer standing out amongst the other personnel and the various aircraft. He walked with thundering steps toward the officer, grasping their attention in the process. The officer turned and faced the SPARTAN, now standing at attention in front of him, giving a salute as they were doing so.

"Ma'am, SPARTAN-777 reporting as ordered" Jaeger stated monotonously.

The officer returned the gesture, raising his arm to salute as well.

"At ease. Lieutenant Commander Jilan al-Cygni. Welcome SPARTAN, it's time for you to deploy to the surface." she replied authoritatively.

Jaeger nodded, and complied the Lieutenant's order. Jilan pulled out a small data pad from her uniform and handed it to him. Jaeger took the data pad without hesitation, proceeding to activating it. The data pad lit up, revealing a tactical mapping of what he thinks is his objective.

"Is this my objective Ma'am?"

The officer nodded. "That is correct SPARTAN. That in your hand is a map of a small settlement known as Gladsheim. You already know you're objective, all that's left is your drop point and extraction. You will travel via Pelican, and you'll be dropped off about 1 kilck south-west of the settlement. From there, you shall proceed on foot to the village and escort the civilians to the drop point. I don't want any needless casualties, understood?" she explained.

Jaeger gave a salute to the officer, and gave his response. "Understood Ma'am".

Jilan returned his salute. "Dismissed SPARTAN."

Jaeger nodded, and Jilan took her leave. Without hesitation he proceeded quickly to armoury, directly linked to the Hangar. He reached the entrance to the armoury and opened the thick titanium door. Various marines were already in the armoury, and the new arrival gained their attention. Jaeger was unfazed by the high level of attention he had drawn to himself. Ignoring the gaze and murmurs of the marines, he walked to the closest unoccupied weapons station.

Reaching his destination, he opened the station to find an assortment of weaponry. With his SPARTAN instinct kicking in, he chose the best suited weapons for his mission. He chose the standard edition MA5B assault rifle, the 'bread and butter' for any soldier. Next was the M6C sidearm, silent and deadly from close to mid-range. Lastly, his personal favourite, the M7S case-less submachine gun. Satisfied with his selection of weaponry, he closed the weapons station and headed toward the restricted area of the armoury for one more important piece of equipment.

He reached the restricted area entrance. "Voice confirmation required." a mechanical voice commanded.

Jaeger cleared his throat "Sierra-077, Sergeant Major." he replied blankly.

"Match found, Access Granted" the mechanical voice responded.

With his voice conformation, the door opened to him. He entered the new room without hesitation. Within his sight was the final edition to his equipment. His armour.

The black and crimson striped armour was attached to an Armour Assembly Unit. That was one of the drawbacks of the MJOLNIR armour, the user had to use an AAU to actually wear the armour and to remove it. Jaeger stepped into the AAU and waited for the process to begin. As soon as he entered the AAU, it whirred loudly as it started to attach the armour to his body. First, the grieves, then the gauntlets and lastly the chest plate. It took a good few minutes for the armour to be fully equipped, once it was done Jaeger stepped out of the AAU and started heading back toward the hangar, all the while attaching his weapons to the magnetic strips on his armour.

With his armour on, he received even more stares from the remaining marines in the armoury. Ignoring them once more, he exited the armoury and into the hangar, where he met a familiar sight.

John-177 and Kelly-087, fully armoured and equipped.

Jaeger approached the two, now noticing they were with the same officer who debriefed him earlier.

He reached the two of them, both of which acknowledged his arrival with a curt nod. He returned the nod and fell into rank, now facing Lieutenant Commander Jilan.

"Alright SPARTANS, you know what you need to do. Get it done, and get it done fast. Dismissed." she said with a salute.

The three returned the salute, and headed to their designated Pelicans. Without a word being uttered, Jaeger left John and Kelly and headed to his own Pelican. He entered the aircraft silently, with all eyes upon him.

 _Well look at that, you're so popular Jaeger._

 _Athena? Is that you?_

 _Yeah. Surprised?_

 _...not really. If Halsey can make super soldiers, then she can create an AI that can talk to people through their thoughts._

 _In this day and age, anything is possible._

 _Yeah._

Jaeger sat down, near the edge of the loading ramp. It began to close slowly, and after a few moments it closed fully, leaving the interior of the pelican lit with a deep red light.

 _You ready for this?_

 _I'm a SPARTAN. We're always ready._

 **Alright, finally. It's been a while but here you are. I know it's a bit short and doesn't have much content, but I wanted to put some character development into the story. Next chapter coming soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. The rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Year – 2525, 3rd February_

 _Location – Harvest, 1 klick west of drop point , Pelican 47B_

"Thirty Seconds!" the pilot yelled.

As the pilot yelled to the marines, they all prepped their weapons, preparing for the imminent drop off. Jaeger did the same as the other marines, but with Athena bugging his thoughts, it was quite difficult.

 _Come on Jaeger! Talk to meeee!_

 _Athena, please don't do that._

 _Do what?_

 _Moaning._

 _I am not moaning! I'm just trying to make small talk._

 _I have no interest for small talk Athena._

…

 _Good. Now keep quiet._

 _Hard ass._

 _What was that?_

 _Nothing..._

Jaeger just shook his head at Athena's comment, and instead focused on more pressing matters, they were just approaching the drop zone. He pulled off the assault rifle off his back and stepped toward the edge off the now open loading ramp.

"Alright marines! Let's move out!" Jaeger ordered loudly as he jumped off the loading ramp.

He landed swiftly and waited for the rest of his squad to touchdown. The marine squad exited the pelican and walked to face Jaeger. He gave a gesture for them to follow him, which they did so with no hesitation, the perfect mentality for any soldier. Jaeger set off with a fast pace, but slow enough for the marines to catch up. He found this quite irksome, having the marines around would just slow him down. But orders were orders, and he had to follow them.

Ignoring this, he kept up his pace. He knew he had to reach Gladsheim, before this new enemy got to them first. He could hear the marines behind him, their ragged breath gave the inevitable truth that they were getting tired. They'd travelled quite the distance at this point. Knowing that ordinary marines couldn't keep up with his pace, it gave him a hint of irritation. _We'll never make it in time at this rate_ he thought to himself.

 _Well not everyone is a SPARTAN Jaeger, you should know that much._

 _I know Athena, it's just that I can't finish my mission with them holding me back._

 _Is that all this is about? The mission is more important than them?_

 _The mission is more important than anything._

 _That's a bit close-minded..._

 _If that's what you think. But every soldier knows the mission comes first, sometimes victory can only be obtained through sacrifice._

 _I still can't get my head around your opinion Jaeger. Everyone deserves to live, to feel. Even soldiers._

Jaeger looked back at the marines, noticing some of them having trouble breathing. He groaned inwardly, hardly believing what he was about to do.

"Marines, head to the extraction point. I'll head on alone and escort the civilians myself. Keep the area clear and wait for my arrival. Corporal Jameson, you'll be in temporary command of the squad until I return. Are we clear?" Jaeger ordered.

Some of the marines had looks of disbelief written on their faces, finding it hard to fathom their squad leaders order. This was short lived however, as the SPARTAN repeated himself.

"Are we clear marines?"

They all gave a salute and gave their unified response "Crystal, Sir!"

Jaeger gave a short nod, and with that, the marines began the long journey to the extraction point.

 _Happy now Athena?_

 _Yes, well done Jaeger._

 _Yeah, yeah. Let's just get going._

* * *

 _Year – 2525, 3rd February_

 _Location - Gladsheim_

"RUN!"

Sounds of the strange gunfire stormed throughout the small village, mixed with the horrified screams of the villagers. It was pure pandemonium, everyone was screaming, running from the monstrosities murdering the villagers. Blood curdling screams echoed all around, the attackers showing no mercy as they butchered anyone that got in their way. Among all this chaos was a little girl, cut off from everyone in the village, sobbing with no end as she hid from the massacre.

 _I don't want to die!_

"RAGH! Chieftain, I found one, a runt!" a bestial voice roared.

The little girl slowly turned her gaze, facing the source of the voice. She let out a high-pitched scream. What stood before filled her entire being with great fear. A 9ft tall ape-like beast stood before her, dressed in dark blue armour, drenched in blood. Human blood. The beast, from what the little girl could see, was grinning, showing a set of sharp yellowed teeth. The little girl shuddered when she noticed more blood surrounding the beasts mouth.

The girl tried backing away, but the beast harshly grabbed one of her arms, dangling her above the ground. The girl could do nothing, she was immobilized by fear, her voice snatched from her. Her captor kept her dangling, and took the girl to another group of five other beasts.

"Chieftain, look what I found!" the monster said victoriously.

One beast stepped forward from the group. This one stood out from the others, presuming it was the chieftain. This one wore golden armour. But what stood out the most was the giant sledgehammer placed on it's back. It grunted to her captor, and it dropped her. She fell with a painful thud onto her knees. The golden-armoured beast knelt and stared at the girl. It took a long intake of air through its snout, laughing gutturally as it finished.

"Mmmm, fresh meat. This one is young, so tender..." It trailed off.

The poor girl tried to stifle the flow of tears that begun cascading down her face. She never felt so scared before, even before all this horror happened, where she was always alone, with no family and friends. She felt so alone, so powerless against these monsters.

Another one of the beasts stepped forward from the group and spoke "Maybe we should roast her. She'll be so-"

But it was cut off, a single gunshot sounded throughout the village. The beast that spoke now stood with no head, as it exploded at the instant the gunshot went off, spraying the others with bloody pieces.

The remaining beasts looked frantically for the source of the gunshot, furiously searching for their comrades killer. They all stopped searching when another, hoarse voice spoke.

"Get away from the girl. Now." the voice commanded calmly.

The beasts, as well as the little girl turned to find the source of the voice.

What stood in front of them shocked them, especially the girl. A 6ft figure, adorned with black bulky armour with their firearm pointed at them. The beasts let out a low growl at the figure.

The figure spoke up once more "Don't make me repeat myself."

A moment of silence passed, but it was swiftly broken as one of the beasts roared and charged at the new arrival.

* * *

Jaeger stood stoically, unfazed by the charging creature.

The creature raised one of its arms, ready to strike him. When the creature was in Jaeger's reach, he acted instantly, his SPARTAN instinct kicking in.

Jaeger pulled is own fist back and thrust with all his strength as his fist collided with his attacker's head. A loud crack sounded with the impact, and the beast was sent hurtling backwards with immense speed.

It landed at the feet of the other beasts, the rage threatening to burst free at their comrades demise. The little girl on the other hand was frozen in place, not by fear, but by shock. She just witnessed the armoured individual dispose of one of the monsters with ease in a matter of seconds.

"KILL HIM" the chieftain roared.

The group of beasts leapt into action, with chaos ensuing; their weapons forgotten, resorting to their fists to pummel the new arrival. Jaeger readied himself, preparing to quell his attackers. One lunged for him, but Jaeger swiftly jumped over it, landing behind it grabbing its head and snapping its neck, all with a single fluid motion. Another went in for the kill, but was met with a forceful kick to its gut, along with a punch to its jaw. It screamed in pain, now clutching its broken jaw. Jaeger wasted no time, pulling out his combat knife, embedding it into the screaming beasts skull. With only two more remaining, Jaeger took the initiative, tackling the two to the ground with a bone crushing force. He went on to stab one of then in the neck, moments after the other rolled away and stood up groggily. Jaeger ran with great speed, reaching the beast, he leapt onto its chest with one foot, kicking and breaking its neck with the other. Jaeger landed gracefully, with the body of the now dead beast falling to the ground with a loud thud.

The Chieftain went berserk, pulling the giant hammer of its back, charging with inhuman speed at Jaeger. He turned to the chieftain, with combat knife in hand. Within a split-second, Jaeger threw the knife at the chieftain, whistling through the air. With a moments passing, the knife embedded itself into the chieftain's eye. It stopped its charge, howling in pain trying to pull the knife from its eye socket. It didn't notice Jaeger closing the distance until it was too late. Jaeger pulled off his M6C off his left thigh, raising it point blank at the chieftain's head, and pulled the trigger.

The chieftain fell to the ground with no sign of resistance, showing that all life had left it. As Jaeger put his pistol back onto it's magnetic strip, he heard small sniffles with his augmented hearing. He turned to find the source. The little girl.

The girl looked up at Jaeger, and held an expression that he interpreted as fear.

 _You know I think she's scared of you Jaeger._

 _Why should she? I saved her life._

 _You can't blame her Jaeger, she's just a little girl. And you are quite intimidating._

 _Well then why don't you talk to her? Tell her I'm here to get her to safety._

 _Don't you want to at least-_

 _No._

 _(Sigh) Fine, unplug me._

Jaeger complied and pulled Athena from his interface. He held the data chip in the palm of his hand

kneeling down to the girl, and Athena materialized as her avatar.

"Don't worry little one, we're not going to hurt you" she said warmly.

The girl hesitated slightly, but spoke up in her own time.

"Who are you?" she asked

"My name is Athena, and this is my... errr, friend, Mr SPARTAN" she said with a sweet smile.

The girl took this as an opportunity to glance at 'Mr SPARTAN'. She stared into the orange visor with curiosity. This made Jaeger a little uncomfortable, so he decided to acknowledge her inspection of him with a small nod.

"Why are you here?" she asked with a slightly frightened tone.

"We were sent here to evacuate all the civilians from this area." Athena said, pausing before adding "But we weren't fast enough" she finished sadly.

Jaeger looked around him, a sad sight indeed. Countless bodies of all the people he couldn't save. He felt a pang of guilt hit him, an unusual occurrence. He knew he should of gotten here faster, then maybe the whole mission wouldn't have gone FUBAR. _Jilan's going to be all over my back about this_ he thought. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard another sniffle. He snapped his vision to the little girl, now crying with tears falling from her eyes.

"It was horrible, they killed everyone" she said shakily.

Athena tried comforting the child. "Don't worry, we're going to get you to safety. There's no need to cry anymore, we'll protect you."

The girl ceased her crying at Athena's comforting words. "Really?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, isn't that right Mr SPARTAN?" Athena replied.

Jaeger just nodded at Athena's question. He noticed the girl ease up at his conformation, but he could still sense a small hint of anxiety. _She's still afraid of me. I need her to be relaxed around me if I want her to follow me_ he thought to himself.

He was about to speak, but Athena voiced his concern for him.

"Why are you so afraid little one? Mr SPARTAN won't hurt you."

The little girl sank back slightly "But he looks so scary." she replied.

Athena pondered on how to remove the child's fear of Jaeger, she knew that they needed her to trust them before they got going to the extraction point.

"Mr SPARTAN, why don't you show her the SPARTAN smile?" Athena suggested.

Jaeger hesitated at Athena's suggestion, but if it was going to get rid of the girls fear of him, then so be it.

Jaeger lifted his hand and swiped two fingers across his visor slowly. After doing so, he noticed the girl was confused at the gesture.

"What was that?" the girl asked

"That was a SPARTAN smile. It shows that he's being friendly. See? There's nothing to fear" Athena clarified.

The girl finally relinquished her fear, and gave a smile to Jaeger.

"C'mon little one, we need to get you to safety now." Athena said.

The girl nodded, and with her motion, Jaeger stood up and inserted Athena's data chip into his neural interface. He could see that the girl was saddened by Athena's disappearance, but this quickly dissipated as Athena spoke through his comm unit.

"Don't worry child, I'm still here. Mr SPARTAN just needs me for a while."

"OK" the girl replied sadly.

 _We need to go Athena, more hostiles could arrive any moment, we've wasted enough time with this child._

 _I know Jaeger, but the girl has gone through enough already._

 _We need to get the girl out of here quickly, any suggestions?_

 _Just one._

"Little one, could you come here for a moment." Athena asked politely

The girl complied, and approached the 6ft giant.

 _Kneel down._

 _What?_

 _I said kneel down Jaeger, trust me._

 _I hope you know what you're doing Athena._

 _Don't I always?_

Jaeger knelt down, and Athena spoke from his comm unit once more.

"Now, climb onto Mr SPARTANS back."

The little girl hesitated slightly, but did as she was asked. She struggled slightly at climbing onto Jaeger's back, but eventually found herself clinging to him. As she completed the feat, glowing projectiles flew past them. Jaeger turned his gaze to the origin of the strange projectiles, and groaned inwardly when he saw small dwarf like creatures with a strange contraption on their backs, along with another of the beasts he dispatched earlier.

 _Let's go Jaeger._

He didn't need to be told that, as he was already running from the new contacts.

* * *

Jaeger was sprinting back to the evacuation point, the hostiles out of sight. He noticed the white knuckles of the little girls hands on his shoulder guards. She was scared again, that much was clear. A strange feeling built up from the pit of his stomach as he noticed the girls fear.

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_

 _Interesting. So you do have emotions._

 _What's that supposed to mean Athena?_

 _Nothing, nothing. Haven't you got an extraction point to get to?_

Jaeger just ignored her last comment, and kept up his pace. He had no idea why, but he had the strange urge to annihilate anything that caused the girl harm. He just pressed on, not caring for the reason of this new found feeling.

As he was nearing the evacuation point he noticed the same projectiles he encountered earlier. _Dammit, they're here already, this is going to get a little hairy_ he thought. One of the projectiles flew past him. They had seen him. Jaeger retaliated by pulling out his M7S out, aiming at the enemy in his sight. He could see that the marines had done well, they were entrenched, never relenting in returning fire. One of the dwarf-like creatures pointed its weapon at one of the marines, it had a perfect shot. Before it could pull the trigger, it was riddled with a wave of bullets. It was dead before it hit the ground.

"IT'S THE SPARTAN! SUPPRESSING FIRE! LAY DOWN SOME HEAT DAMMIT!" Corporal Jameson yelled over the gunfire.

The rest of the marines complied with the order and held nothing back as they unleashed a storm of lead on their attackers. Jaeger took the opportunity to join them, pulling the girl off his back with his free hand, keeping her close to his chest to protect her from the gunfire. She yelped slightly at the contact, but Jaeger ignored, her safety was his main concern. He reached the marines and took cover behind one of the barricades that they had set up, keeping the girl close to him.

"What's the situation Corporal?" Jaeger ordered.

"They appeared out of nowhere sir, but we held our ground. A couple of casualties and even more wounded. There was only ten of us left when you got here sir." Jameson replied.

"You did a good job holding out corporal. How long until the extraction gets here?" he asked.

"About three minutes sir, but we can't hold out much longer."

"Don't worry corporal, I'll handle them." Jaeger looked at the girl, and she looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes and hands clamped over her ears. "I want you to look after her while I'm gone. Defend her with your life." he continued while pointing at the girl.

Corporal Jameson nodded, but something bothered him "Is she it sir? Where's everyone else?" he asked.

"Dead." Jaeger replied coldly.

"Oh, I see..." the corporal said with a pained expression.

"Don't linger on the past soldier, focus on what's going on right now. This girl is all that's left of the villagers. Do not let her die. That's an order." Jaeger said authoritatively.

The corporal shook off the sad news from his mind, and saluted to the SPARTAN. "Yes sir!"

Jaeger knelt down and put a comforting hand onto the girls shoulder. The girl looked up into his visor, clearly scared at the situation that they were in. She gave a small nod, and with that Jaeger went straight into action.

He leapt over the barricade head first, rolling back up as he landed. With his SMG in hand, he started hailing bullets into anything that got in his sight. One of the small creatures was unlucky enough to have its armour pierced, resulting in a small explosion from the contraption on its back.

Jaeger noticed this _I see, so that's their weak spot_ he thought. He kept up his attack, the small creatures screaming, waving their arms around. The bigger creatures tried to keep them in order, but to no avail, Jaeger was causing too much chaos for them to counter.

Meanwhile the marines looked on in awe at the SPARTAN'S display. It was truly a sigh to behold. A single soldier standing on open ground, displaying no signs of fear in the face of adversity. Their situation had turned for the better as hostiles fell, one by one. A sudden roar of engines overhead caught their attention. A pelican came into view as it begun its landing, the loading ramp opened and a swarm of bullets erupted from the back of the pelican.

"Covering fire! Marines get in here on the double!" a voice shouted from the pelican.

The marines didn't need telling twice, they swiftly boarded the pelican, some covering their advance. Corporal Jameson offered his hand to the young girl. She took his hand and the both of them boarded the pelican. The girl looked back, worried for the SPARTAN.

"What about Mr SPARTAN?" she asked quietly pointing at the man in question.

Jameson smiled at the girl for her concern. "Don't worry kid, he can handle himself. He'll be here in no time." he said reassuringly.

"OK mister." the girl replied.

 _Jaeger, the extraction is here._

 _Got it Athena._

Jaeger emptied the last of his magazine into the closest creature. Without looking to confirm the kill he ran back to the entrenched position, where the pelican began lifting off. He picked up the pace, and with one monumental leap, he jumped onto the back of the pelican, startling the rest of the occupants. He took no time in replacing the magazine of his SMG and defending the pelican from the attackers left on the ground. The pelican was soon out of their range, and the back of the pelican closed, leaving the familiar red-lighting filling the back of the aircraft.

All was silent in the cabin. Everyone clearly had their new enemy on their minds. One marine spoke up.

"What the hell were those things?" he asked, addressing no one in particular.

"Those small things looked like the bulk of their forces, the grunts." another replied.

"Grunts?"

"Well we need to call them something."

"What about those 8ft things, the apes?"

"What about Brutes? They're animalistic enough."

"Ok,what about those bird things?"

"Jumpy as a Jackal those things were. Bloody things kept on dodging my bullets."

"Jackal's huh? That's-"

"Enough marines, call 'em what you want. It doesn't change the fact that they just attacked one of our colonies, and they sure as hell ain't gonna get away with it." Jameson interrupted firmly.

Jaeger just sat silently, keeping to his own thoughts.

 _This isn't the last we'll see of them, I know it._

 _Well aren't you just a bright ray of sunshine._

 _I'm just stating the facts as they are. There's a storm brewing, and humanity is about to find themselves in the middle of it._

 _Don't be so pessimistic Jaeger._

 _How can I not? I failed my mission, I didn't save everyone. This was my first deployment and it couldn't of gone worse._

 _But you saved someone, didn't you?_

 _..._

 _Yeah, I guess I did._

Jaeger looked at the one person he did save, the girl.

 _She was lucky we got to her in time. Those 'brutes' were dead set on eating her._

 _Oh my!_

 _What is it now Athena?_

 _I don't know her name._

 _Well why don't you ask?_

Jaeger unplugged Athena's data chip from his interface, placed it in the palm of his hand and held it up to the girl. Athena's avatar popped up within seconds.

"Hello again little one!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hello Miss Athena." the girl replied.

"You know, you never told me your name."

The little girl blushed in embarrassment "Sorry Miss Athena."

"It's alright little one, don't worry too much about it" Athena replied warmly.

The girl smiled at Athena "My name is-"

"Attention, we are approaching the UNSC _Behemoth_ all hands prepare to disembark" the pilot said over the onboard comm.

"Another time perhaps" Athena said to the little girl.

* * *

 _Year – 2525, 4th February_

 _Location – Hangar 5B, UNSC Behemoth, High orbit, Harvest._

The Pelican returned to the UNSC _Behemoth,_ landing in Hangar. The occupants were just glad to be off Harvest, away from all the death on the planet below. The atmosphere was morbid in the cabin of the pelican, each soldier racked with guilt at all those they couldn't save. The ramp opened to them and they all exited the pelican with heavy footsteps. They could all see Commander Jilan waiting for them.

From Jilan's point of view, she could see their pained expression. They all reached her and fell into rank with Jaeger standing in the middle on the front row. She asked them the question that they had all dreaded.

"Where are the civilians marines?"

They all stayed silence, their heads downcast. Jaeger decided to speak up.

"We only saved one Ma'am."

"One?"

"That's right Ma'am."

She sighed at his confirmation "I thought I told you I wanted no casualties Sergeant Major."

"You did Ma'am."

"So why is there only one civilian with you?"

Jaeger paused for a moment, he knew that the failure was all on him.

"I wasn't fast enough."

Jilan sensed the SPARTAN'S regret. _How strange..._ she thought. She decided to ease the SPARTAN.

"It's fine SPARTAN, sometimes things don't go according to plan."

"But if I had just gotten there sooner-"

"Then you would have been killed" a new voice interrupted.

Jaeger glanced to see the new arrival, or arrivals. John-117 and Kelly-087. They were with another SPARTAN that Jaeger recognised as Samuel-034.

"SPARTANS don't die 117." Jaeger replied.

"Maybe, but I'm certain that an entire regiment would give us trouble." John countered

"A regiment?" Jaeger asked.

"That's right. Kelly and I reached our sectors. They were overrun, we managed to save a few but even Kelly wouldn't of gotten there in time to stop them." he clarified.

Jaeger responded by turning his gaze to the ground.

"You may be right, but it doesn't make me feel better. Our duty as SPARTANS is the protection of humanity, whatever the cost. Even our lives."

Jaeger kept his gaze fixated on the ground, until he was interrupted by someone he didn't expect. The little girl was holding his hand, gaining the attention of everyone present.

"Don't say that Mr SPARTAN. I don't want you to die" she whispered quietly.

Jaeger looked at the girl. He was silenced, he couldn't speak. The child's concerned, strangely made that same feeling rise up again. He shook off the silence.

"I won't. Don't worry, SPARTANS never die." he said hoarsely.

The girl gasped a little upon hearing his voice. _Mr SPARTAN can talk?_ She thought to herself.

 _Now that's a first._

 _What now Athena? Did I do something wrong?_

 _Quite the opposite really._

 _How so?_

 _You tried to comfort her._

…

 _Yeah, yeah, that silent treatment won't work on me Jaeger. I know what you did._

Jaeger squeezed the girls hand lightly, not wanting to crush her bones with his herculean strength.

"Thank you." he said plainly.

The girl gave him a bright smile in response. He didn't know what it was, but this girl was doing something to him. But, for some reason, he liked it.

"Alright miss, its time we got you somewhere safe OK?" Jilan said stepping forward.

The little girl hesitated, but Jaeger gave a SPARTAN smile to show that she could trust the officer.

"OK."

The officer gave her hand to the little girl, who took it gently.

"Marines, fall out." Jilan ordered.

The marines saluted half-heartedly and took their leave. Jilan walked off with the girl in tow. Jaeger took this opportunity to ask John and Kelly something that was bugging him ever since they got back.

"Do you think it's over?" Jaeger asked them.

"No. It was too easy, they wouldn't just let us leave without a fight." Kelly answered.

"We need to be ready." John added.

"Y'all worry too much. If they do come, we'll just kick their asses. There's four of us now, we can cause some major hurt for those alien bastards." Samuel spoke up.

The trio turned to Samuel, who just shrugged at them. John, Kelly and Jaeger just nodded at Samuel's enthusiasm. Jaeger decided to break the ice.

"Let's go to the mess." he suggested

The other SPARTANS nodded in agreement, and left for the mess hall.

* * *

 _I wonder where that kid went..._

 _Something troubling you Jaeger._

 _No, its nothing._

 _Don't give me that Jaeger, you were thinking about that kid weren't you._

 _Maybe, maybe not. What's it matter?_

 _It just shows that the mission doesn't come first._

 _Athena. Don't. Just listen-_

 _No you listen Jaeger! Get it through that thick skull of yours already! Human lives aren't just a statistic!_

…

 _Fine._

 _Good. Now eat._

Jaeger shook his head wearily at Athena's command, he was already eating wasn't he?

He was sitting down at one of the many tables in the mess hall with John, Kelly and Samuel. All of them ate in silence, a usual occurrence for SPARTANS. Eating was not a social gathering to them, it was a simple necessity, talking while eating would just slow them down, and SPARTANS were trained to be efficient. The silence was broken by the ship's intercom.

"SPARTAN-777 report to the medical bay immediately"

Jaeger stopped eating and looked at the others. They gave a quick nod, which he returned, before leaving the table and heading toward the med bay. As he was walking to the med bay, he placed his helmet back on, a habit he picked up during training.

He reached the medical wing in no time. The med bay door opened as he approached, allowing him to enter the room. He was about to take another step when something collided with his legs. He looked down to see the little girl clinging to his legs. He was confused by the gesture, and voiced his confusion.

"Is something wrong?"

The girl released her hold on his legs and looked up with glazed eyes, showing that she was on the verge of tears. "Nothing. It's just I wanted to thank you before I left Mr SPARTAN. I'm a little sad, I don't want to say goodbye yet." she said sadly.

Jaeger knelt down, placing a comforting hand onto the girl's shoulder, doing a SPARTAN smile with his free hand. The girl laughed lightly at the gesture, replacing her sad features with a more cheerful one. She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall, showing the SPARTAN that she felt better. Jaeger took the chance to ask one of the doctors the reason behind the girl's initial distress.

"Doctor, what's wrong with the girl?" he asked, keeping up his neutral voice.

"She's about to go SPARTAN. She's being transferred to a nearby freighter to get her out of the system. The freighters are going to earth, where she'll be given a new home. Don't worry about the details, but she'll be safe there" the doctor replied.

"I see. Thank you doctor." Jaeger responded.

Jaeger returned his gaze to the child. She looked at him with sadness in her eyes, he could see that she was reluctant to leave. An idea suddenly came to him. He had learnt, like all the other SPARTANS, that rewards were good incentives to get the job done. For them it was a break from the gruelling training, but he understood the principle.

"You know, if you don't go, you won't get your present."

"What present?" she asked curiously.

"Your going-away present. You sure you don't want it?"

"What kind of present is it?" she inquired

"You'll have to wait and see. I'll give it to you before you go, alright?" he offered

"Okay Mr SPARTAN."

"Doctor, could you please escort our little friend here to the Hangar?" Jaeger asked

"Of course." he accepted

The doctor stepped forward, gesturing kindly for the girl to follow. The girl gave a quick hug to Jaeger and skipped off happily to the doctor. The two of them left the med bay, but not before the girl waved goodbye to the SPARTAN. Jaeger returned the wave as she was leaving, the door shutting behind them.

 _Athena, what did that kid just do?_

 _Why that would be a hug Jaeger._

 _What does it mean?_

 _It's a gesture of trust, kind of like your SPARTAN smile._

 _I see, thank you for telling me._

 _My, my. Someone's being friendly._

 _Yeah, yeah. Keep it to yourself Athena._

"Doctor, why was the girl in the med bay?" Jaeger asked.

"Oh, it was just an examination. We checked for any sign of trauma, and injury. The results did show a moderate level of trauma, but that can easily be treated. You did a good job SPARTAN, keeping her safe that is." the addressed doctor replied.

Jaeger just nodded at the doctor's comment.

"One more thing doctor, which ship is the girl leaving on?"

"That would be the CMA _Vostok_ sir, its docked with the _Behemoth_ at the moment. It's in docking area A5." the doctor clarified.

Jaeger took his leave after the doctor gave him the name of the ship the girl would be leaving on. He didn't want to miss the girls departure. This worried him though, he wasn't supposed to form attachments, it could seriously affect his performance in combat. And it was a foreign concept to him, and it made him a little uneasy. Deciding against his better judgement, he shook off the dilemma from his mind, and headed straight to the docking area where the CMA _Vostok_ was docked, but took a detour to his quarters along the way. He made a promise after all.

* * *

 _At Docking area A5-_

"Don't worry kid, he'll be here. A SPARTAN is always true to their word." the doctor reassured the girl.

This made the girl feel a little better. She wanted to say goodbye to the SPARTAN before she left, and she was still curious about the 'present' he would give her.

Her spirits lifted as she saw the SPARTAN in question enter the docking area. She waved joyfully at the SPARTAN, who now noticed where she was.

Jaeger walked to the little girl who was waving happily at him. He eventually reached the little girl and knelt down to her. He did another SPARTAN smile, and the girl responded equally with a cheerful smile of her own.

"Hello Mr SPARTAN! I've been waiting for you!" she exclaimed happily.

"You've waited long enough. Now, I think I made a promise, didn't I?" he said rhetorically.

The girl nodded her head furiously "Uh-huh!"

Jaeger smiled underneath his visor as he pulled out a small black box. He spoke up once more before handing the girl her gift.

"Now you have to promise me one more thing before I give you your present." he paused "I want you to stay safe, alright?"

"OK Mr SPARTAN, I promise." she replied earnestly.

With that said he handed her his gift. She accepted it with a warm smile, clutching the box close to her.

"Would all civilians in sector A please report to the CMA _Vostok_ for departure."

The girl's expression suddenly became solemn.

"I guess this is goodbye Mr SPARTAN." she stated sadly.

"Maybe we'll see each other again, some day. Don't worry little lady, it'll be alright." he returned comfortingly.

The girl just smiled at Jaeger's words, happy knowing that she would get the chance to see him again. Jaeger stood and gave the girl a small salute. The girl giggled and returned the action.

Jaeger began to walk back to the mess hall, but he glanced over his shoulder one last time to see the girl boarding the _Vostok._ He was feeling strange, a feeling he had not felt in many years. He knew what the source of the feeling was, the little girl. He didn't need a label for the feeling, he didn't care. It was... pleasant.

 _You know you can't hide your thoughts from me Jaeger._

 _It's not like I try Athena._

 _What's that supposed to mean?_

 _It means I know what you were talking about earlier. I understand._

 _Well finally! It took you long enough!_

 _Don't let it go to your head Athena._

 _Oh don't worry about me, I'm just going to enjoy my victory!_

 _(sigh) You can be so difficult sometimes, you know that right?_

 _I try._

 _You know, I think I'm going to watch the Vostok leave, just in case._

 _Now you're not even trying to hide it anymore._

 _I have no reason to now._

\With a clear goal set in mind, he headed to the nearest observation deck.

* * *

 _Observation deck A5 -_

Jaeger could see the CMA _Vostok_ , among other frigates drifting through space. He felt serene, glad that his new friend would now be safe.

This feeling was broken when an uncountable amount of slip-space ruptures appeared throughout the starlit space. Within moments hundreds of strange purple coloured ships exited the ruptures, and wasted now time in attacking the UNSC Naval Defence Fleet. The UNSC ships took time to recover from the surprise attack, the majority of the fleet were already fiery remains the new arrivals had decimated. But Jaeger wasn't worried about the lost ships, he was even more worried for the frigates evacuating the civilians.

He was faced with great horror when he saw the attackers open fire upon the frigates. Many were destroyed as multiple explosions riddled their hulls, only a select few escaped unharmed. Within seconds, all but one frigate remained. Jaeger noticed the last frigate attempting to make a slip-space jump. The frigate was about half way through when a stream of purple light struck the frigate, destroying it completely.

Before Jaeger had the chance to take action, the _Behemoth's_ intercom boomed. "ALL HANDS PREPARE FOR EMERGENCY SLIP-SPACE JUMP!"

The ship lurched almost instantly as the voice gave the warning. Jaeger was slightly unbalanced, but he recollected himself. He clenched his fist.

 _Athena, what was that last ship?_

 _Jaeger-_

 _TELL ME!_

…

…

…

 _The CMA Vostok_

With Athena's harsh but truthful words, Jaeger fell to his knees, letting out a guttural scream. A few minutes. That's all it took for Jaeger to feel his entire being shatter.

 **Wooh! Chapter 6 is finished. Now some of you have been asking when the crossover will happen, there's good news. The next chapter is when the crossover happens, so sit tight while I write it up!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos. The rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Year – 2531, January 30th_

 _Location – UNSC Behemoth_

 _Doctors Log-07_

 _Subject -777_

 _Medical Affliction – PTSD_

 _Subject-777, better known as 'Sev' was sent to me immediately after the first battle of Harvest. Subject entered a state of rage, for reason's unknown at the time, on the observation deck of the UNSC Behemoth. Met with great resistance from 777, assisted by SPARTANS 117, 087 and 034 in pacifying the subject. 777 was taken to the medical bay after he was restrained. Halsey and myself personally oversaw the subject's psychiatric examination, finding symptoms of severe PTSD. Cause still unknown, subject refuses to elaborate. Only clue of cause is his constant muttering of the same phrase "I failed". Affliction negatively affected 777's combat performance, provided from observations made during simulations. Ultimate decision was made by Halsey to wipe selected memory of the battle of Harvest, in hopes of removing the trauma. Subject given experimental serum-MR390 (developed by Halsey during the SPARTAN II project) and placed into cryo-sleep, in hopes that once awoken, the trauma would be removed. Subject kept in stasis for one year before awoken by lab personnel (with an armed guard). 777 showed no signs of PTSD, and no memory of the events that transpired on Harvest. Halsey gave me an extensive profile on the serum used, warning that it may not be permanent. To counter this possibility, it was arranged for the subject to be administered with the serum annually until a more suitable solution can be developed. 777 was deemed ready for combat four months after being awoken, and put into the field immediately. Combat efficiency was off the charts during missions. To conclude, subject-777 has overcome his trauma, and there is no cause for concern._

 _-END OF MEDICAL LOG-_

* * *

 _Year – 2531, 17th March_

 _Location – UNSC Spirit of Fire, Unknown Planetoid._

"SPARTANS, Sergeant Forge. Please report to the bridge."

Jaeger heard the transmission over the intercom, heading straight to the bridge where the captain was waiting for him and the others. He encountered the others mentioned in the captain's transmission on his way to the bridge.

"Hey Sev."

Jaeger just nodded to his addresser, Jerome-092. He glanced to see Alice-130, Douglas-042 and Sergeant John Forge with 092. The others acknowledged Jaeger with small nods of their own, with Alice giving a small wave instead.

The five of them walked in silence to the bridge. They eventually reached the door to the bridge, with it opening to them. They all stepped into the bridge, standing at attention in rank before the captain. The captain gave them a quick salute, to which they returned.

"Thank you for coming here on short notice. This is important." he said.

The five of them stayed silent at his words, but he continued nonetheless.

"As you all know, the 'Arbiter' kidnapped Doctor Anders, whom Sergeant Forge managed to recover with your help. She has devised a plan to make sure the covenant doesn't escape the system and use the artefacts they've found. But... I'm afraid you're not going to like it"

The doctor, seemingly appeared from nowhere at Captain Cutter's last comment.

"Thank you Captain, I'll take it from here." she said.

The captain gave a short nod and allowed Doctor Anders to elaborate.

"Serina, if you will." she asked politely.

"Of course Doctor" the shipboard AI accepted.

Serina materialized a hologram of the doctor's plan.

"This is what I have devised. The hologram is currently displaying the reactor that powers the engines of the ship. In order to prevent the covenant from using the technology they've recovered from the planetoid , the reactor has to be detonated within the artificial sun that resides inside the planetoid. This will cause a mass overload, but at a price. The ship, with everything on it, will be destroyed by the overload. In other words, none of us are getting out of here alive."

The SPARTANS and Forge kept their silence. In their minds, they knew this had to be done. But Jaeger had other ideas.

"I can see an alternative." he announced neutrally.

The others on the bridge just stared at Jaeger, confused by his question.

"Please elaborate 777." the doctor asked.

"What if we loaded the reactor into a pelican and flew that into the sun? The pilot could detonate the reactor, while the _Spirit of Fire_ slingshots itself around the sun, and out of the planetoid." he explained.

The doctor pondered the SPARTAN'S suggestion. It was a logical course of action, but one question remained.

"Then who would pilot the pelican?" the doctor inquired.

The bridge was silent as no one answered the doctor's inquiry. This was broken when one brave soul volunteered themselves.

"I will."

The others turned to the owner of the voice. Jaeger.

"Are you certain 777? You know it's a one way trip." Captain Cutter spoke.

"Yes" Jaeger replied without hesitation.

The Captain let out a long sigh. "Doctor? What do you think? Can we do it?"

"Yes, it should make no difference in the plan, except the fact that 777 would be the only casualty." she replied.

The Captain paused before finishing. "Very well SPARTAN. If that's what you want, but why if I may ask?"

"It is our duty, as SPARTANS, to protect humanity from any threat, no matter the cost. This is clearly a threat to humanity and must be prevented." Jaeger informed patriotically.

"Then what about the other SPARTANS?" Cutter responded logically.

"Because they're all part of a team. An efficient unit, they all fought and trained together. I didn't. If one of them were to take my place, then their performance would drop in combat, even with a replacement member." Jaeger clarified.

"But-" Alice started.

"No. This is how it must be. I refuse to allow anyone else to do this but me." Jaeger stated firmly.

They were all put into place by Jaeger's statement. Red Team were silently upset. Jaeger didn't see that they already saw him as a member of their team, even if it wasn't official. The silence continued before it was broken by Cutter.

"Very well. Red team, I want you to head to Hangar 2F and load a pelican with the reactor immediately. No more questions." he said authoritatively.

The other SPARTANS took their leave, having one last glance at Jaeger before heading to the reactor. This left the doctor, Captain Cutter, Sergeant Forge and Jaeger alone on the bridge. Cutter was still troubled by something however.

"Doctor, one problem still remains unsolved. How do we get out of the system with no slipspace capabilities?"

"All we can do is put the majority of the crew into cryo, and leave a skeleton crew to pilot the ship to the nearest UNSC controlled system." the doctor clarified.

"Very well. If that's what it takes. Sergeant Forge, I want you to organise the crew into cryo pods, you shall be joining them. Same goes for you doctor, you're going into cryo too. I will mange the skeleton crew." Cutter ordered.

"But sir, who will be part of the skeleton crew?" Forge asked.

"Hold that thought sergeant." he paused, reaching for the ship's intercom "Chief engineer Prescott, Officer Blake. Report to the bridge immediately." he ordered.

Minutes pass, but Prescott and Blake finally entered the bridge.

"You called sir?" Blake inquired.

"Yes. Yes I did. Blake, I want you to select ten officers and assign them to the bridge. I also want you to assemble a squad of marines from the crew. As for you Prescott, I want you to put together a team of your best engineers. Don't ask why, just do it for me." Cutter ordered.

The two addressees glanced at each other before giving the captain a salute, showing that they understood. They swiftly left the bridge to carry out the Captains orders. As they left, the intercom beeped. Captain Cutter answered the unknown hail.

"Cutter here."

"This is Red Team. The reactor has been loaded. It's ready."

"Good. Hold position, 777 and I will join you shortly."

He ended the short conversation and glanced to Jaeger. Jaeger gave a slow nod, and the two of them headed to the hangar.

* * *

 _At Hangar 2F -_

Jaeger and Captain Cutter reached the hangar after a long walk of silence. They entered the hangar, noticing the SPARTANS of red team waiting for them, standing by the pelican with the devastating payload. The two approached red team, all of whom gave a stiff salute to the duo. They both returned the respectful gesture. There was an awkward silence between them, before the captain broke it.

"777, are you ready?" he asked

"Yes. You'd better report to the cryo bay now, I'll take it from here." Jaeger replied blankly.

The other four hesitated. The members of Red Team wanted to give their final farewell to the selfless soldier.

"It's been an honour Sev. We'll see you on the other side." Douglas said holding out his hand.

Jaeger decided to accept the gesture, and grasped the offered hand with his own. Their hands remained clenched as the other two SPARTANS added their own. All of the SPARTANS gave a curt nod, and the formation broke. The Captain cleared his throat to say his own goodbye to the SPARTAN.

"Good Luck Sergeant Major." he said softly, despite his respective stature.

"We make our own luck sir." he replied, with his old rival's catchphrase.

With the last of the goodbyes out of the way, Jaeger took the first step into the instrument of his death. He glanced over his shoulder to see the others standing at attention, with their arms raised as a salute. He acknowledged their respectful act with one last salute before heading to the cockpit of the pelican. He sat down in the pilots seat, and entered the command to close the ramp of the pelican. He looked down the cabin to see the reactor, it was humming slightly, showing that it was already primed and armed. Jaeger returned his attention to piloting the pelican. He started up the engines which whirred to life. In no time at all, he lifted the Pelican out of the Hangar and into the dark abyss to face his end.

 _So this is it, isn't it?_

 _Yes. It is._

…

 _I'm sorry Jaeger._

 _Why are you apologizing Athena? This is the way things have to be._

 _But why you? Why not any of the others?_

 _I explained that earlier. If you were listening I-_

 _Don't give me that Jaeger. I know there was a different reason._

…

 _C'mon Jaeger, be honest. This is the last time we'll be able to talk like this._

…

 _To be honest Athena, I don't really know. It just felt like the right thing to do at the time. I feel like I still would of volunteered, even if it wasn't my duty._

 _I see..._

…

…

 _Thank you Athena._

 _For what?_

…

 _For everything._

Jaeger ended the conversation in his head, noticing that they were almost at the sun. He felt no regret, he knew this was the only way to save everyone. He breathed in one, final long breath and released it. Unbuckling himself from the pilot seat, he approached the armed reactor. He motioned his hand over the activation command on the reactor. He hesitated slightly, glancing one last time into the glowing, yellow sun. He closed his eyes, bracing for the end.

And activated the make-shift bomb.

* * *

 _Year – Unknown_

 _Location – Unknown_

Darkness. That's all he could see. Darkness. _Is this what it feels like to be dead?_ Jaeger thought. He walked slowly, gathering his surroundings. _Jaeger._ He heard the voice, like a whisper. He kept silent, listening intently for the voice. He heard it again, but this time it was clear. And warm. _Jaeger, it's time to wake up dear._ He was confused by what the voice had said. He was about to speak out into the darkness, but was interrupted by a sudden, bellowing voice.

 _JAEGER! JAEGER WAKE UP NOW!_

Jaeger bolted up.

 _I'm... Alive? Athena, what's going on?_

 _I have no idea, but I think you should see this. Get to the cockpit and look out the window._

Jaeger slowly gathered himself off the steel floor of the pelican, clutching his side as he did so. _Damn, I'm injured_ he thought. Ignoring the pain, he staggered into the cockpit, and his jaw dropped at the sight infront of him.

Earth

 _Athena, Try to establish contact with FLEETCOM._

 _On it._

…

 _Well?_

 _I'm getting nothing. Not even static._

 _That's impossible. Scan the planet for any UNSC communications, maybe FLEETCOM is down._

 _Scanning..._

…

 _My god. You're not gonna like this._

 _What? What is it?_

 _Jaeger... This isn't earth._

 _What are you talking about? Just look at what's in front of you. That has to be earth._

 _What I'm getting at is... well..._

 _Just get to the point._

 _This isn't our earth._

 _What? Are you certain?_

 _Yes, that's what I can get from the analysis. My scans showed no signs of the UNSC or the UEG at all. There's no orbital stations, there's no UNSCDF, there's nothing at all._

 _There has to be something._

 _Jaeger this-_

 _We're going planetside._

 _But we don't even know what's down there!_

 _Doesn't matter. I want to get a better grasp of this 'second earth'._

 _What if something happens?_

Jaeger left Athena's question unanswered as he sat back down into the pilot's chair. He readjusted his course and headed to the planet below. He went on to answer Athena's last question.

 _Then we'll handle it._

* * *

"Alright class listen up! You have the good fortune of having me as your home room teacher this semester! So-" a voice started

"OH MY GOD! WE GET ORIMURA-SENSEI AGAIN!" another voice burst out

"KYAAA!"

Chifuyu Orimura rubbed her eyes stressfully. _This is going to be a long year. Why do I always get the loonies?_ she asked herself. Ignoring the squeals of delight from the class, she stepped in front of the desk of one poor unfortunate soul.

"Ichika!" she said with a raised voice.

"Yes Ma'am?" he replied fearfully.

"I want you to make an effort this semester! No slacking off!" she commanded.

Ichika groaned at his sister's demand. This earned him a signature thwack to the head from her clipboard. After rubbing his sore spot on his head he looked into the eyes of the 'demon' as he saw it. He shuddered as he noticed the malice filled aura emanating from her. He gulped and gave a quivered response.

"Yes, Orimura-sensei."

"Good."

Chifuyu motioned for her assistant to take over. The assistant cleared her throat, ready to address the now reasonably quiet class.

"Welcome back to another semester at the IS Academy! I hope you all had a wonderful break from all the hard work you put in for your first semester." she stated cheerfully.

The assistant was met with an awkward silence. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly before continuing.

"Ummm... moving on. This semester will be more challenging than the last, so I hope you're all ready for the extra work! Tournaments will be held frequently to test your skills gained from your first semester, and hopefully you'll make some new friends along the way!" she finished joyfully.

The class remained in their state of silence at the assistant's bubbly nature. Chifuyu clapped her hands together to get the class' attention.

"That will be all Miss Yamada. As for the rest of you, class dismissed!" she remarked sternly.

The class stayed seated and begun their chattering. Save one.

Ichika Orimura ran one of his hands through his messy, navy blue hair and let out a sigh. _Another year of torture, here I come. Hopefully I won't get as much grief from the others this-_ he thought before being interrupted.

"Ichika!" the voice said loudly.

Ichika turned his head to find the source of the newcomer. His childhood friend, Houki.

"What is it Houki?" he responded hesitantly.

"Let's go." she said, grabbing him roughly from his desk.

"Wha-, Where are we going Houki?" he asked irritatedly.

"Just shut up and follow me." she replied curtly.

Houki continued to drag Ichika by the sleeve until she reached their destination. The school roof.

"Houki, this is-" Ichika started.

She gave her reply by dragging him through the door and onto the roof. She released her hold from him, facing him with a tinted red face.

"Listen Ichika..."

"What? Is something wrong?" he inquired.

"About that night..." she trailed.

Ichika blushed at the memory of that night. He knew what she was talking about. It was when they beat the Silver Gospel at the end of last semester. He remembered the embarrassing (and life-threatening) position he found himself. With Houki in his arms running from the others as they shot at the two of them. He was about to speak up, but was interrupted when the door to the roof slammed open.

"Shinonono! What do you think you're doing!"

Ichika and Houki looked toward the door to find four girls. From Ichika's point of view, they looked very, very angry.

"I'm not doing anything. Is there something wrong Huang?" Houki replied calmly.

The girl in question was fuming at Houki's calm demeanour.

"Rin, Cecilia, Laura, Char, what're you doing here?" Ichika said before the situation escalated.

Rin recomposed herself to answer Ichika's question.

"Well, you and Shinonono there disappeared. The others and I wanted to see where you went off to."

"Well now you have. Is there something else you wanted?" Houki interjected jealously.

Rin was about to rebuke Houki's rude question, but the school bell rung, stopping her.

"Next time Houki, next time." Rin said before taking her leave with the other girls.

"C'mon, we need to get back to class." Ichika told Houki

Houki just nodded, but was secretly annoyed that she couldn't finish.

* * *

"Alright Class! Enough chatter!" Chifuyu said firmly.

The squabbling girls instantly ceased their mindless gossip at the command.

"Today we'll see just how much you've learnt from last year! You will all engage in separate spars with each other, taking turns. Remember this is just an exercise not a competition, don't go over the top! Are we clear?"

"Yes Orimura-sensei!" they replied earnestly.

"First up is Orimura and Shinonono!" Chifuyu declared.

Houki celebrated to herself, glad to be paired with Ichika first. While Ichika felt a wave of terror. _Crap! Houki's gonna kill me!_ he thought fearfully.

The two of them deployed their IS' and moved into position, with Houki being met with the jealous gazes of all the class, especially from Rin, Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte. Ignoring the stares, Houki readied herself into a combat stance, as did Ichika. He activated his Yukihira, it's burning, blue blade bursting from the hilt. Houki materialized her own weapons, the twin katana's Amatsuki and Karaware.

Moments pass as the duo remain on guard with their weapons at the ready.

"BEGIN!" Chifuyu yelled.

They wasted no time in rushing toward each other. Ichika swung first, his attack being met with a block from one of Houki's blades. Houki Thrust her free katana at Ichika, but he dodged it narrowly. The two started pacing around in a circle with the brief cease of combat. Houki took the initiative as she rushed to Ichika, bringing down both swords onto him. He barely managed to block the attack with the Yukihira. They both held the lock, Houki pushing down with all her might and Ichika keeping her blades at bay, kneeling.

Ichika was already tiring from the battle. _Dammit! I can't hold on much longer!_ he thought to himself harshly. No sooner did he have this thought, Houki removed one of her blades and swept her free sword at Ichika's side. With nowhere to dodge, Houki's sword connected with Ichika, bringing his shield energy to nought. Chifuyu stepped in at this moment.

"Alright, that's enough. Shinonono, put your IS on standby and rejoin the class" she paused "You too Orimura." she added with an irritated voice.

The two complied, Houki de-materialized her IS, putting it back into standby mode. She offered a hand to Ichika, which he took. She pulled him up and the two of them walked to their classmates.

"Dunois! Bödewig! You're next." Chifuyu said sternly.

The two girls complied, stepping forward from the class and activated their own IS, readying themselves for the coming duel.

"BEGIN!"

The two girls were about to engage each other, but a strange, growing, whirring sound held them in place.

"What's that sound?"

"Sounds like a Jet"

Chifuyu groaned inwardly at the comments. But something caught her eye in the distance.

"Miss Yamada, Isn't the area above the academy a restricted airspace?" she asked firmly.

"Umm... I think so." she replied absent mindedly.

"Then why is there an aircraft currently flying toward the academy?" she asked rhetorically while pointing to said aircraft.

Miss Yamada turned her gaze to where Chifuyu was pointing, noticing the approaching aircraft.

"Oh..."

* * *

 _Where are we going Jaeger?_

 _We're just scouting for now. I need to know what's going on._

 _I have a bad feeling about this._

 _Calm down Athena. We'll be fine._

…

…

 _Jaeger._

 _What?_

 _I'm picking up some strange readings, 1 klick east of us. It could be something-_

 _We'll check it out._

Jaeger adjusted their current course, turning the pelican eastward.

 _What do you think we'll see when we get there?_

 _I don't know. But it doesn't matter. If it can tell us more about this planet, then it's worth the risk._

 _Risk? You expecting an attack?_

 _Maybe. If we are attacked, we'll handle it._

 _What do you mean by 'handle it'?_

 _You already know the answer._

…

 _Jaeger-_

 _Enough. No more talk. Let me focus._

 _...OK Jaeger._

Minutes pass by as Jaeger pilot's the Pelican without interruption. Something caught his eye. Using his HUD's zooming capability, he noticed a tall, jagged structure over the horizon. Without hesitation, he increased his speed. As the time passed by, more came into his view. It appeared to be an Island, dotted with multiple buildings.

 _Athena, what is that?_

 _I have no-_

 _What? Why did you stop?_

 _Jaeger! Take evasive manoeuvres! Now!_

Jaeger didn't hesitate, and instantly jerked the pelican left, and into a roll. Just as he finished the rushed movement, a crimson coloured projectile narrowly missed the pelican. His SPARTAN instinct kicked in, recognizing the unknown threat.

 _Athena, take over here, get out of range. I'm making the drop. If I need help, I'll activate my transponder._

 _As you wish._

With Athena's confirmation, Jaeger pulled her data chip from the back of his head and plugged it into the onboard AI slot. Her familiar avatar materialized, giving him a nod, signalling that she was in control of the pelican. He rushed into the cabin of the Pelican and opened the weapon station. He received his chosen weapons (SPARTAN Laser, MA5B and 2 M7S SMG's) as well as a mobile jetpack and slammed them hastily onto his armour's magnetic strips. He strode past the reactor and stopped at the loading ramp.

 _Do it Athena._

 _On it._

The ramp began to open, flooding the cabin with blinding light. After seconds pass, the ramp was fully open. And with one final intake of air, he leapt out of the pelican to face the new threat.

* * *

"Miss Orimura! That aircraft is getting closer!" a student exclaimed through the chaos

"Everyone calm down!"

The students all stopped their fearful squabbling.

"The situation is under control." she said as she pressed her earpiece "Yamada, has the aircraft accepted our hail?" she asked over the earpiece.

"No I'm afraid. It's unresponsive." Yamada replied.

Chifuyu sighed at this, but quickly recollected herself.

"Then we assume it's hostile. Shinonono, Huang, Alcott, Bödewig, Dunois! I want all of you to engage the aircraft! Buy us time to evacuate the students! Ichika, you're with me." she ordered.

The five girls, along with Ichika gave her a nod of acknowledgement, ready to engage their new foe. The five of them arranged themselves in a line, fully armed and ready to fight, while Ichika left with Chifuyu and the rest of the students to safety.

The unknown aircraft closed the distance between them and the academy. Rin wasted no time in firing at the aircraft with her impact cannons. The fiery projectiles sped to the aircraft, but it dodged the attack and veered off.

"You missed!" Cecilia yelled angrily.

"It's not my fault they dodged it! Why don't you give it a try?" she replied heatedly.

"Fine. Let me show you how easy it is" Cecilia responded haughtily.

Cecilia raised her sniper rifle, aiming at the aircraft. The aircraft adjusted its course, now heading straight to them.

"Take the shot Cecilia!" Houki yelled.

Cecilia ignored Houki's pestering, taking in long breaths to steady her aim. Her finger was slowly squeezing the trigger, but before she could take the shot, a glinting red light blinded her view, and she was suddenly sent hurtling backwards as a beam of blinding red light struck her. She slammed into the ground, unmoving, with her IS returned in standby mode.

The other girls just looked at each other, each with utter surprise written on their faces.

"What just happened?!" Rin yelled with a shocked tone in her voice.

Before any of the others could answer the obvious question, something impacted into the ground in front of them, lifting the dirt off the ground into a large dust cloud.

* * *

As Jaeger was falling through the air, he noticed a glint on the ground. He focused onto its origin with his advanced eyesight, and was met with a sight that stunned him.

From what he could see, there were five girls. Five _human_ girls, wearing skin tight suits, adorned in a strange exoskeleton. To him, they looked no older than sixteen. _Their stances are unbalanced, and their formation is flawed. They clearly have little or no combat experience. Good_ he thought tactically.

Jaeger pulled the SPARTAN laser off his back, aiming it at the origin of the glint. He zoomed in to find a young blonde girl aiming a large sniper rifle at the pelican. _Interesting, they haven't seen me yet._ He held down the trigger of the laser, allowing a familiar red light gather around the barrel. The laser surged, releasing a long red beam at the blonde girl. It connected with its target, sending the hostile flying backwards. Jaeger noticed that the girl's exoskeleton dissipated, leaving her lying on the ground. Supposedly dead. The other hostiles panicked as their comrade fell.

He was getting closer to the ground, so he locked his armour, ready for the rough landing. Within seconds of him doing so, he slammed into the ground, displacing the dirt and creating a dust cloud.

He waited, not wanting the others to notice his presence. A voice broke the silence that followed his destructive entry.

"What the hell was that?!" someone yelled.

The dust was slowly clearing.

"I have no-" Houki started.

But she was interrupted when a black figure came into view as the dust began to settle. The four remaining girls were silenced, their voices long forgotten. Their jaws dropped as they took in the appearance of the new arrival.

A 6ft figure, adorned with bulky black armour, with crimson stripes running down its arms and the right side of its torso. What caught their attention was a bright orange visor on its helmet. They snapped out of their inspection when another red glint gleamed from the weapon it was now aiming at them.

They had little time to register the oncoming attack. A red beam headed straight toward the group. They dived out of its path. Some of them anyway.

The beam struck Rin as she was trying to dodge it. She let out a scream as it burned away her shields. Like Cecilia, she was propelled through the air by the impact, landing to the ground with a loud thud.

The remaining girls' anger rose. Whatever this thing was, it was going to pay. Houki rushed forward to unknown hostile, with her two swords raised above her head ready to cleave them in two.

Jaeger quickly acknowledged the new threat. He placed the laser back onto his back, leaving him unarmed. Houki reached him, bringing her swords down to slice him. He went into 'SPARTAN time', the world went into slow motion around him. He grasped the dull edges of the two swords with his hands, the force of their swing creating a shallow crater beneath his feet. He saw the girls shocked expression, probably from his display of strength. A spilt second later, he snapped the two weapons with his bare hands, kicking the girl in her exposed gut with great force, throwing her off balance. Houki tipped over, winded and knocked unconscious by the unknown assailants kick.

Charlotte and Laura stood still, immobilized by shock. And fear. Despite holding a calm demeanour, deep down they were terrified. This... thing had just dispatched two representative candidates and a highly skilled IS pilot with ease. The two of them shook off their surprise, attempting to formulate a counter-offensive. Laura took charge.

"Charlotte! I'll hold it in place with my AIC! Shoot it while its immobilised!"

Charlotte nodded determinedly, materializing her Garm SMG's and aiming at the armour clad figure. Laura held out her arm to Jaeger and activated her AIC.

Jaeger felt a sudden force grasp him. He tried to move, but something was stopping him. He looked at the two girls in font of him, the one in a black exoskeleton with silver hair holding out its arm to him, and the other orange coloured exoskeleton raising their weapons. _The one in black is holding me._ _I need to deal with her first_ he thought calmly to himself.

He tensed every muscle in his body, clenching his fists, trying to break the girls hold on him. He could feel his arms moving ever so slightly, and with a single powered movement with his arms, he felt the unknown force dissipate. He wasted no time in sprinting toward the silver haired girl. She could only yelp as he grabbed her outstretched arm. He pulled on her arm forcefully, turning his body, with her arm in his grasp. He spun around and released his hold, sending the girl speeding through the air. Her forced flight promptly ended when she struck a nearby wall, breaking away the concrete. Familiar whistling sounds caught his attention. _Bullets_ he thought irritatedly. He turned to see the last hostile shooting a wave of bullets at him. Luckily, his shields absorbed the brunt of the attack. He didn't want to take chances, so to be safe he activated his Z-4190 'Bubble Shield' smashing it to the ground, to protect him while his shields recharged. The spherical shield materialized around him as his opponent released another hailstorm of bullets, the shield preventing them from reaching him.

Charlotte kept firing at the unknown attacker, but ceased when she noticed that a strange dome-like apparition absorbed her bullets. She lowered her weapons and stared, with an angered gaze, at the figure standing within the transparent apparition. It was standing still, unmoving. Charlotte's rising anger got the better of her as she screamed at it.

"What are you?! Why have you done this?!" she demanded angrily.

Before she could continue, the figure started to slowly walk toward her. It stepped out of its protective bubble, advancing ever so slowly toward her. She raised her SMG's, her fingers on their triggers as she prepared to open fire. The figure became a blur as she was about to open fire. She searched frantically for the black-armoured figure, but to no avail. A deep, hoarse voice behind her made her freeze.

"I am a SPARTAN. And I defended myself."

Before she could react, she felt something collide with her head, and her world became dark.

* * *

To say Chifuyu was in shock was a severe understatement. Her along with the other students eyes were widened at the events of the battle. Ichika broke her shock as he spoke slowly.

"Chifuyu-nee, wh-what just happened?" he asked shakily.

Allowing the drop in formality, she replied as calmly as she could.

"I don't know Orimura. At the moment I don't really care. We need to help them before this... thing does any more damage."

She turned her attention to Miss Yamada.

"Miss Yamada, mobilize all the instructors, I don't want this thing getting away!" she ordered.

"Of course Miss Orimura." Yamada responded seriously.

Yamada raised her hand to her earpiece.

"Attention all Instructors! Report to the main training grounds! Bring your IS with you. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill!" she commanded with the same tone of seriousness.

"Ichika, is your IS fully charged?" Chifuyu asked.

Ichika checked to see if his IS could be deployed and gave her the answer she was hoping for.

"Yes, it's ready to be deployed."

"Good. Listen up girls! Miss Yamada, Orimura and myself are going to assist in pacifying our attacker! Under no circumstances are you to leave the emergency bunker until the threat has passed! Understand?" she declared authoritatively.

The frightened students replied in unison, with shaky voices.

"Yes, Orimura-sensei."

Chifuyu glanced at Ichika and Miss Yamada, who both gave her a nod of agreement. She gestured for the two to follow her, which they did with great haste.

As Chifuyu, Ichika and Yamada rushed out of the bunker, Chifuyu had only one thing on her mind.

 _I hope we get there in time_.

* * *

Jaeger stood over the now unconscious blonde haired girl. With his MA5B aimed at her head. He was about to finish her off when the faint sound of thrusters caught his attention.

He analysed his surroundings to find the source of the noise, noticing small dots in the sky approaching. Fast. _I need to get out of here. I can't handle that many_ he thought. No sooner did he think this when a voice shouted to him.

"DON'T MOVE!"

Jaeger shifted his gaze to find a woman, with long black hair, fashioned into a ponytail, and piercing hazel coloured eyes standing before him. He also noticed a green haired woman, with matching green eyes, and another exoskeleton, piloted by a young teenage boy with navy blue hair and hazel coloured eyes. _The boy and the black haired woman must be related, they look similar. I should use this to my advantage_ he thought analytically.

His inner thoughts were interrupted when the black haired woman spoke once more.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Jaeger was insulted by this woman's tone. The way she addressed him was militaristic, like a superior would address their underlings. He was a SPARTAN, not a mere marine. And she had no right to address him as such. He just kept his silence as his reply.

Chifuyu's anger was slowly rising. _Is it an IS? That would explain a lot. A person wouldn't be able to cause this much damage on without one_ she questioned herself. Ichika was getting angry as well. His friends were lying there, hopefully alive, because of this armoured-being standing before him. He voiced his anger loudly.

"You better be ready to fight you bastard! You'll pay for what you did to my friends!"

Jaeger's finger twitched on the trigger of his assault rifle at the young boy's outburst. His left hand clenched tightly around the bottom of the rifle, ready to adjust for any sudden signs of hostile intent.

"That's enough Ichika! Don't provoke it!" the black haired woman shouted.

 _So, the boy's name is Ichika_.

The black haired woman, from what he could interpret, was trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated. Jaeger was fighting an internal battle. One side of him wanted to keep the situation under control, but he knew that reinforcements could arrive at any moment. The other side wanted to remove them and escape, but then that could lead to unforeseen consequences. For all he knew, the three standing before him could be part of a bigger faction. After great consideration, he decided on the latter, activating his emergency transponder, hoping that Athena would get here in time.

"Who are you? This is the last time I'll repeat myself" the black haired woman asked again.

More Silence.

"Don't make us fight you. Tell us why. Now." she threatened.

Jaeger noticed a large blip on his HUD.

...

As he kept his silence, multiple exoskeletons landed around him, boxing him in.

"If you won't talk freely, you leave us no choice. We'll take you into custody and make you talk. If you resist, we will use lethal force." Chifuyu said threateningly.

Jaeger was unfazed by Chifuyu's threat. He gave his response. A grenade. He whipped a grenade off his armour's belt and lobbed it right at Chifuyu.

"LOOK OUT CHIFUYU-NEE!" Ichika yelled as sliced the grenade in mid-air with his Yukihira.

Jaeger took his chance, and activated his jetpack. He replaced his MA5B with his M7S's and didn't hesitate to open fire onto his attackers.

Before any of them could return fire, a barrage of missiles flew past him and straight at the exoskeletons. They exploded, causing the hostiles to disperse. He glanced behind him, seeing his saviour. Athena.

He wasted no time in flying toward the back of the pelican, and into the cabin through the opened ramp. He rushed to the cockpit, buckling himself in. He grasped the joystick and jerked it backwards to elevate the pelican away from the hostiles still on the ground. He increased his speed, knowing that time was at the essence.

Chifuyu was furious. Not only did the intruder refuse to answer her question, it had the nerve to attack her.

"AFTER IT! DON'T LET IT ESCAPE!" Chifuyu bellowed loudly.

The instructors didn't hesitate, and activated their thrusters to pursue the fleeing assailant. Chifuyu addressed Ichika immediately after.

"Ichika, same goes for you. Stop it at all costs." she told him calmly.

Ichika gave a quick nod, and took off after the aircraft. As he flew away, Chifuyu allowed herself a rare sentimental thought.

 _Be safe Ichika._

* * *

 _I see you made new friends Jaeger._

 _This is no time for jokes Athena._

 _I'm just trying to lighten the mood._

 _Well don't. Do something useful and plot us a new course. We need somewhere to lay low._

 _Hmph. Meanie._

 _Athena._

 _I'm doing it, I'm doing it! Don't get you're knickers in a twist._

 _What is that supposed to mean?_

…

 _Athena._

 _Shouldn't you be focusing on flying right now?_

Jaeger grunted inwardly at Athena's sly comment. But she was right. He should be focusing on flying instead of getting into petty arguments with his AI.

So far, his escape was not going smoothly. At the time, he didn't know that the exoskeleton's could fly. He was having trouble avoiding all the missiles and bullets they shot at him, some of them hitting the hull on occasion. Luckily, there wasn't any serious damage. The warning alarm for missile lock went off in the cockpit, and Jaeger responded by roughly banking to the right. The missiles flew harmlessly past him, but quickly readjusted, regaining their lock on the pelican.

 _Athena. Take over._

 _What?! You're going to jump again?_

 _No. I had something else in mind._

 _Alright, I found a good location for us, I'll head straight there._

 _Good. Open the back, I'm going to give our new 'friends' a little parting gift._

Jaeger unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat once more, heading back into the cabin to get his little 'present'. He reached the weapon station, and stopped in front of a sealed weapon's case. He forcefully opened the weapon's case, giving a very rare smirk under his visor. He heaved his little 'present' from the weapon's case and held it at his side. He stepped heavily to the opening ramp, revealing small dots in the clear sky.

He began to set up is 'present'. The 'present' was an AIE-486H heavy machine gun, capable of piercing the armour of a wraith and shredding banshees in mid flight. The perfect gift for his new 'friends'.

With the HMG ready to fire, Jaeger searched the sky for anyone dumb enough to fly too close. He noticed one particular dot standing out among the other dark green dots. He zoomed in his HUD on the anomaly. In is sight was the white exoskeleton from before, with the same male pilot. From the looks of it, the pilot was seething with fury.

Ichika was flying among the instructors, with his anger reaching breaking point. He noticed the back of the aircraft open open, and his eyes widened as he saw the figure, hunched over a large Gatling Gun. Before Ichika could warn the instructors of the new threat, a barrage of bullets shot out from the back of the aircraft, making short work of the instructors that were flying close to him, forcing them to back off. Ichika wasted no time in zooming away from the storm of projectiles, joining a small group of fleeing instructors.

"What's going on sensei?" he asked.

"We're pulling back, we need reinforcements." one of the instructors replied.

Ichika barely kept his anger contained.

"But we can't give up now!"

"Yes, we can. We're going back Orimura and that's final." the instructor said sternly.

Ichika's face scrunched up at the instructor's order. _Like hell am I gonna let it get away!_ he thought angrily.

Before any of the instructors could stop him, Ichika sped back toward the aircraft, avoiding the gunfire that continuously poured out of the back of it. After a few moments, the gunfire ceased. Ichika took the chance, and headed straight to the back of the opened aircraft. He reached the ramp of the aircraft, noticing the abandoned Gatling Gun, still smoking at the barrel. He cautiously stepped further into the dark cabin, with Yukihira in hand. With every step, he felt his fear rising to engulf his anger. The assailant was nowhere in sight. Ichika gulped. He spoke shakily, trying to gain a bearing on his friends' attacker.

"I-I-I k-know y-you're i-in here. C-Come o-out and f-f-fight!"

No response.

He fearfully walked further into the cabin, but found he couldn't get past a large object marked with a nuclear symbol. Going against his better judgement, he went into partial deployment. He needed to explore the entire interior. With only his Yukihira and his pilot suit as protection, he stepped past the obstruction, and into what appeared to be the cockpit. It was empty.

He turned to leave, but a sudden voice stopped him.

"It's not nice to barge in here uninvited." it said cheerfully.

He turned back to see a small blue feminine figure materialize before his very eyes. The petite figure smiled sweetly at him and gave a small wave.

"Hello!" she greeted cheerfully.

Ichika was dumbstruck. Never before in his life had he seen something like this. A few seconds pass, and Ichika voiced his obvious shock.

"What are you?"

"I'm an AI of course. My name is Athena!" it exclaimed happily.

"Athena?" he asked numbly.

"That's right!" she replied.

An awkward silence ensued for a few moments, before Ichika asked Athena something that had been bothering him ever since he got onto the aircraft.

"I don't suppose you've seen a 6ft tall black...err...IS have you?"

"I wouldn't know anything about an IS, but I do know a tall black armoured guy." she responded

"Really?" he asked earnestly.

"Yeah, he's right there" she said pointing behind Ichika.

Before Ichika could react, he felt a painful thud on his head. He was losing consciousness, but not before hearing the armour clad being speak.

"Surprise."

 **And there you have it! We have finally reached the crossover! Thank you all for your patience with me. I'll make sure to publish the next chapter soon!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos, the rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Unknown location-_

Ichika winced in pain, his head throbbing. _Urggh... what happened to me?_ His eyes flashed open as he remembered the prior events; boarding the strange aircraft, meeting the small blue figure and coming face to face with _it._ His anger flared at the mere memory of his attacker, the one who hurt his friends, and even worse, almost killed his big sister. Clenching his fist, he tried to move. But found that he could not. He looked down his body, to see that it was constricted with ropes, and his wrists trapped together by a strange pair of handcuffs.

"Good. You're awake."

Ichika snapped his head to find the source of the voice. He began to feel his fury rising as he found the origin. His friends attacker. Barely containing himself, Ichika yelled at his captor.

"LET ME GO YOU BASTARD!"

"Or what?" Jaeger replied calmly.

"OR I'LL-"

But before he could continue, Jaeger stepped forward, giving off an intimidating aura, leaning close. Ichika glared into the orange visor.

"Be quiet. You will answer my questions willingly. If you refuse, then I promise that you'll regret it. I'm well versed in the methods of interrogation, so if you don't start talking, then you'll learn just how bad suffering can get." Jaeger threatened.

Ichika just scowled at his captor. _I need to be careful. If I can stall just stall him long enough, then maybe someone will come to my rescue_ he thought. With a clear goal in mind, Ichika decided to play along.

"Fine" Ichika replied shortly.

Jaeger smirked under his visor. "Then let us begin."

* * *

 _At the Academy-_

Chifuyu angrily slammed her fist onto the desk she was hunched over.

"What did you just say?" she said through gritted teeth.

Her addresser, an instructor, flinched slightly at Chifuyu's venom-filled question. She gulped as she repeated herself with a shaken voice.

"Ichika Orimura boarded the unknown aircraft alone to face the intruder, but he didn't return. We can only assume that he has been captured."

Chifuyu clenched her fist tightly, her knuckles whitening and her fingernails digging deep into her palm. Within an instant, Chifuyu began barking orders to everyone else present in the room.

"Then our next course of action is clear, I want every able-bodied instructor to look for Orimura! Search the area following the aircraft's last known trajectory!"

"But Miss Orimura, what should we do if we find his captor?" an instructor questioned.

Chifuyu's expression went cold. "Destroy it. It will pay for what it's done."

"Destroy it?" the instructor asked hesitantly.

"From what we can gather, our attacker is an unknown IS, probably a drone. So when you find it, I want it destroyed."

With Chifuyu's last order, the instructors got to work and started to organise a search for Ichika. As the instructors got to work, Chifuyu turned her gaze to Yamada.

"Maya, could you bring the girls here? I'm sure they'd like to help out too." she asked.

"Of course, I'll get on it right away." Maya replied with a serious tone. She immediately left the room with haste to find the girls in question.

* * *

"Tell me about your exoskeleton."

Ichika had a confused look, despite the situation. He had no idea what his captor was talking about, but then it hit him.

"Do you mean my IS?" he asked.

"So that's what it's called. Yes, tell me more about these 'IS'" Jaeger responded.

Ichika cleared his throat. "Infinite Stratos, or 'IS' for short, are advanced humanoid exoskeletons originally conceived to explore space. This however, is currently on hold. For some unforeseen reason, only women can pilot them, with me as the exception. The Alaska Treaty prohibits IS as weapons, and are only to be used in sport. The IS Academy, which _you_ attacked, was set up to train the pilot's for the IS in order to participate in such sporting events. And that's all I know" he finished bravely.

Jaeger processed this new information through his thoughts as Ichika finished.

 _This could be problematic. By the sound of it, there's more of these IS out there._

 _So?_

 _You know what I mean Athena. I had trouble fighting those things earlier, despite my victory. We need a different approach._

 _What do you suggest?_

…

…

 _Jaeger?_

 _That's it._

 _Huh?_

 _Athena, I have an idea._

 _What do you have in mind?_

…

 _Do you think it's possible to create something similar to these IS?_

 _No, without the full schematics I wouldn't even know where to begin._

…

 _Check your data files._

 _Huh? Why? I already said-_

 _Just do it._

 _Alright, alright I'll do it._

…

…

…

 _Hold on, I think I found something._

 _What is it?_

 _Do you remember that project that Halsey told us she was working on before we transferred to the Spirit of Fire?_

 _Yes. I think it was called 'Project YGGDRASIL'._

 _Well guess what I just found?_

 _The plans for the Project?_

 _That's right!_

…

 _Can you make something of it?_

 _Errr...no, I can't._

 _Why not?_

 _I don't have the right equipment to make it Jaeger._

…

…

 _Fine. Then I'll just have to make do._

With the conversation with Athena over, Jaeger returned his attention to his captive.

"Boy-"

"Ichika."

Jaeger ignored the boy's correction.

"You're staying here for a while."

"But I answered all your questions!"

"You did."

"So let me go!"

"I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?!"

"I can't have you calling for reinforcements. Besides, you would probably try to attack me again."

Ichika glared at Jaeger. "Yeah, I would. But you deserve it." he said venomously.

Jaeger raised an eyebrow under his visor. "Why?" he questioned.

"You hurt my friends!" he shouted angrily

Jaeger was confused at first, but this passed when he remembered his first encounter. The five girls.

"They shot at me first. I defended myself. I never fight without a reason." he clarified

"You were in restricted airspace!" Ichika replied

"Then why wasn't I warned first? I believe that breaches the rules of engagement." Jaeger countered.

"Don't lie! I overhead Chifuyu-nee talk to Yamada-sensei! She said you never responded." Ichika rebuffed.

"I have no-" Jaeger started.

 _Actually..._

Jaeger pulled Athena's data chip from his neural interface and held it in the palm of his hand. Athena's avatar materialized, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly with a nervous smile. He and Ichika stared at her.

"What do you mean by 'actually'?" Jaeger asked with a small hint of irritation.

"Well, you see- the thing is...err..." Athena said nervously.

"Well?" Jaeger asked again.

"Umm... it turns out that the comms system was... off... before we were attacked." she finished quietly.

Jaeger clenched his free hand. "So you mean to tell me, that this whole situation started because the comm system was 'off'? And that we could of avoided all this?"

Athena laughed nervously, sensing the inkling of anger in the SPARTAN'S voice. Jaeger kept a calm composure and put Athena back into his interface before she made him lose his temper.

"Huh?"

Jaeger snapped his vision to his captive, his _wrongfully_ held captive. He had a shocked expression.

"Wait, you mean you didn't _want_ to attack us?" Ichika asked cautiously

"That was not my intent." Jaeger replied honestly.

"Then what was?" Ichika asked with the same cautious tone.

"Scouting." Jaeger said shortly.

"Scouting what?" Ichika asked hesitantly

Jaeger allowed himself a rare smirk, knowing what would happen next.

"This planet."

If Ichika wasn't shocked enough before, he definitely was now. His jaw was dropped, and his eyes were wide and his voice was lost. A few silent moments pass, and Ichika spoke with one question in mind.

"This Planet?" he asked slowly.

"That's right." Jaeger replied.

Ichika gulped. "So you're an alien?" he inquired fearfully.

If he allowed himself, Jaeger would of laughed at the boy's question.

"In a manner of speaking."

"In a manner of speaking?" Ichika asked curiously

"I'll be honest with you. You deserve that much, given the situation we're in." he paused "I'm from a different planet."

"A-a-a different p-planet?" Ichika asked shakily

"Yes." Jaeger said.

An awkward silence followed as Jaeger finished explaining his situation. Ichika was petrified. He tried to remain calm, but he was finding it difficult. For all he knew there could be more aliens, like the one before him. He shuddered at the thought.

"So what now?" Ichika asked fearfully.

Jaeger hesitated to answer. If he was honest, he didn't know either. It was strange. As a SPARTAN, he was trained to always have a plan, to always be one step ahead. For the first time in his military career, he didn't know what to he settled for the next best thing.

 _Athena, What do I do?_

 _Sorry, what was that?_

 _I said, what do I do?_

 _Now I've seen everything. Jaeger asking me for help._

 _Athena._

 _We could let him go..._

 _Not an option._

 _Why not?!_

 _Did you forget about our new 'friends' Athena? They're looking for us, and I have no doubt that they want blood for what I did. My blood._

…

 _Are you afraid?_

…

…

 _No._

 _Then why so reluctant?_

…

…

 _My purpose is to protect humanity. It is my mission. How can I protect humanity if I'm fighting it? What am I supposed to do? If I let him go, he'll call for reinforcements. Then I'll be forced to fight them. To kill them. They're not insurrectionists, that much is clear. They are not my enemy._

…

 _Then just give him back yourself._

 _I-_

 _Jaeger._

…

…

 _I'll think about it._

After finishing his conversation with Athena, he answered the lingering question left by his captive.

"Now, we wait."

"Wait? Wait for what?"

"You'll see."

* * *

"ICHIKA HAS BEEN WHAT?!"

Chifuyu allowed her hearing to recover after the loud outburst.

"I said, Ichika's been captured by the unknown IS."

Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura where fuming at Chifuyu's repeated statement.

"So why are we just standing here?! Lets go get him back!" Houki said with an anger laced voice as she began to leave the room.

"If you would let me continue, I'll explain what you're going to do." Chifuyu replied sternly.

Houki grudgingly returned to the other anger-stricken girls. As she stood into place, Chifuyu continued.

"I've already mobilized instructors to search for Ichika, each in different sectors of the unknown IS'

trajectory. You will do the same, each of you will search different sectors. If you find the IS, neutralise it. With extreme prejudice."

The five girls nodded determinedly in unison at Chifuyu, and left without hesitation. They all had one goal.

To save Ichika.

* * *

Jaeger pulled two MRE packets from the supply crate. Satisfied with his selection, he left the pelican, returning to his captive. He sat down roughly around the temporary camp he set up, yanking out his combat knife from its sheath and cutting into the MRE packs. Before he started on his own, he jogged Ichika awake. Ichika's eyes sprung open, jerking up to see his captor offering him a strange looking packet of... something. His captor shook the contents, which seemed like an offering gesture. Ichika hesitantly took the package and begun to consume its bland content.

With his captive now eating, Jaeger took off his helmet as a familiar hiss sounded, the shadows masking his face. He was about to start eating, but stopped as he realized he was being stared at. He turned his gaze to see his captive with his eyes locking with his. They both stayed silent, keeping their eyes locked, until Ichika broke it.

"Why do you hide your face in the shadows?"

"You wouldn't believe what you see."

"Well... I'm s-sure I c-can h-handle it."

"..."

"What's wrong? I'm just trying to be friendly."

Without thinking Jaeger replied. "I've lost too many friends to make more."

This stunned Ichika into silence. He never expected a response like that. He tried his luck getting his captor to elaborate.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked quietly.

Jaeger kept quiet at Ichika's question.

 _What the hell is wrong with me? I didn't have friends to begin with._

 _Yes you did. You were just to blind to see it._

 _Blind? Blinded by what?_

 _You're idiocy._

 _This is no time for jokes Athena._

 _Who says I was joking?_

…

…

 _Tell him Jaeger._

 _Why? I don't even know him._

 _DAMMIT JAEGER! FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE COULD YOU JUST BE HUMAN?_

…

 _Athena..._

…

 _I'm sorry Jaeger, I didn't mean to yell. It's just...It's my job to keep you safe, to protect you. If you keep going on like this, it's going to kill you. Please, just this once, open up to someone._

…

 _Alright Athena. I'll...try._

With his mindful battle with Athena over, he hesitantly answered Ichika's question.

"I'm a soldier back where I'm from."

"A soldier?"

"A SPARTAN. It is our duty to protect humanity, no matter the cost."

"A SPARTAN? You don't look like a Spartan."

"Not that kind of Spartan."

"You said you were a soldier, does that mean you fought in a war?"

"Yes. It was a galactic war, against an alliance of alien races."

Ichika gulped "More aliens?"

"Yes, they called themselves the Covenant. I don't remember how it started, but they're objective was simple. The complete extinction of the human race."

"And you lost friends to these aliens?"

Jaeger paused. "Yes." he said softly hanging his head to the ground.

Ichika fell into silence. He felt sorry for the man in front of him. True, he had hurt his own friends, but they weren't dead. Like his were.

"I'm sorry."

Jaeger looked up at Ichika, feeling a strange sensation course through his body. It felt warm, comforting. He had no idea why, but he felt like this had happened before. He allowed the feeling to continue its course, it made him feel...happy?

"I'm sorry too."

Ichika smiled slightly at his captor before replying.

"It's alright. But I don't think my friends would be so forgiving. Especially Houki."

"Who is this Houki you speak of?"

Ichika smiled at the SPARTAN'S query.

"She's a dear friend of mine. She's the one with long black hair, tied up with a ponytail."

"Ah yes, I remember. Why would she be unforgiving?"

"She has quite the temper." he said sheepishly

"I see. And the others?"

"Cecilia might yell at you, same goes for Rin. Laura might just try to kill you, and Charlotte... I don't know what Charlotte would do."

Jaeger just nodded at Ichika's description, trying to remain civil. They both returned to their bland meals as an aura of awkwardness arose once more. Minutes pass by, neither of them making any form of conversation, and finished their MRE's. Deciding to break the ice, Jaeger spoke.

"C'mon boy, it's time to sleep."

Feeling weary at Jaeger's suggestion, Ichika gave him a brief nod as a response. Jaeger went to stand, but a small measure of pain burst through his side. He clutched his side, remembering the injury, of which he had no idea how he got. Ichika's face contorted with concern.

"What's wrong, are you injured?"

Jaeger felt the strange feeling again as the boy asked his question.

"I'll be fine. I'm trained to ignore pain."

"If you're certain." Ichika replied reluctantly.

With that said, Ichika laid himself down, drifting into a peaceful slumber. Jaeger, on the other hand, stayed awake, sitting on the cold hard ground. Something bothered him.

 _Athena, what is this I'm feeling?_

 _I can't tell you Jaeger, this is something you have to figure out on your own._

* * *

Charlotte was speeding through the night sky, the moon making the sea below her shimmer. It would have been a wondrous sight, under normal circumstances. Ignoring the serene image, she focused instead on her search. So far it was not going well. Two days of searching and they still haven't found Ichika. Everyone back at the academy was getting more anxious as time kept on passing by. For all they knew, Ichika could be dead. Charlotte felt guilty at thinking such a thought, there was no way that Ichika would be dead, he was the strongest fighter she knew. He wouldn't go down so easily.

Charlotte began to feel fatigue kicking in as the hours passed. She knew she wouldn't get back to the academy before succumbing to her weariness. A small island came into view. Deciding that it was the only option, she set herself down onto the small stretch of land. She deactivated her IS and let out a long sigh. She wearily walked into the small jungle. What seemed like an eternity passed, she found a small rocky cave for shelter. Feeling her eyes drooping she entered the cave. She dropped on all fours as the fatigue finally caught up with her. Her legs and arms gave out under the strain, and she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Jaeger's eyes shot open as he heard the sound of thrusters. _They're here_ he thought.

Wasting no time, he heaved himself off the ground, snatching up his helmet as he did so. A familiar hiss sounded as he placed his helmet back on, his HUD bursting to life. He swiftly, albeit quietly as not to wake up his captive, rushed to the pelican. He approached the weapons station, pulling out the SPARTAN laser and his assault rifle.

 _Athena, can this assault rifle handle sabot rounds from the HMG?_

 _I believe so, they are the same calibre._

 _Good. We're going to need it._

 _Why?_

…

 _We have company._

Jaeger strode to the large ammo crate labelled '7.62 sabot rounds', setting the laser aside. He pulled out an empty magazine for his MA5 and began the slow process of forcing the bullets into the magazine. After a few minutes of repeating the tedious process, he slammed a fresh mag into his assault rifle, cocking it and put it off safety. He picked up the SPARTAN laser, flipping it over his back and onto its magnetic strip. With the laser in place and assault rifle in hand, he left the pelican.

 _Athena, place a waypoint on my HUD. I want to find our 'guest'._

 _Already done._

Jaeger noticed a small symbol appear on his HUD. He wasted no time in following the waypoint, setting off into a brisk jog. He stated to slow his pace as a small cave entrance came into view.

 _That's it. They're in there, I can hear them._

 _Be careful Jaeger._

 _Don't worry. I can handle myself._

Jaeger turned on his helmet flashlight as he took his first cautious step into the dimly lit cave. He raised his assault rifle, using the small source of light to scan for any sign of movement. He stopped abruptly as he heard faint...snoring? Confused, he searched for the source. His gaze fell upon something he wasn't expecting. Before him lying on the rough ground, illuminated by the light, was a young dark blonde girl. A brief memory flashed before him. He realised that this was one of the IS pilots he fought before. He removed his finger from the trigger of his assault rifle, lowering his assault rifle as he did so.

He felt strange. A new feeling, different from the one before arose as he took in the image before him. This girl looked so...serene.

 _Oh Jaeger! You sly dog._

 _What?_

 _If only you knew what I knew._

 _Athena stop playing games. What's going on?_

 _Hee-hee. You'll have to figure that out for yourself._

Shaking Athena out of his mind, he inspected the girl closely. Due to his experience in combat he noticed something amiss. _This girl. She looks exhausted, she must of overexerted herself to get here_ he thought. Without thinking, his hand brushed a small strand of hair from her delicate face. He yanked his hand back immediately. _What the hell did I do that for?!_

 _What should I do Athena? Should I get rid of her?_

 _NO! Don't do that!_

 _Why so defensive?_

 _Have you forgotten already Jaeger?_

…

 _Right I remember, no needless killing. That was the first lesson Mendez taught me, of course I haven't forgotten._

 _In that case, why don't we bring her back with us? Ichika could use the company._

…

 _I don't know Athena..._

 _C'mon Jaeger don't be an ass._

…

 _Fine. But I'm taking precautions, she'll have to be restrained as well._

With his decision made, Jaeger gently picked up the girl in his arms, trying carefully not to wake her. He headed out of the cave, the moonlight shining down onto the two of them. He glanced at down to the girl in his arms, and found himself unable to move.

The moonlight reflected off the girl's face, she looked beautiful, more so than Jaeger had ever seen. He felt heat rush to his face and the warm feeling from the cave in conjunction. Shaking his head furiously, he forced himself to make the journey back to the camp.

* * *

Charlotte's eyes fluttered open, the morning sun hanging in the sky. She yawned and tried to stretch out her arms. But her arms refused to move for some reason. Finding this strange, she tried once more to move her arms. But they still refused to move. Trying instead to stand up, she lifted herself, toppling over backwards almost instantly, letting out a yelp as she fell back to the ground. It was then that she realised that she was tied up.

"I see you're awake." a hoarse voice said calmly.

Charlotte snapped her eyes to find the owner of the voice, being met with the last thing she was expecting to see. The black-armoured IS from before. She felt her anger rise.

"You! Where's Ichika? Why am I here? How did you-" she started.

"Calm down. I will answer any questions you have. But for now, I want you to drink this." it said as it offered her a mug filled with a dark brown liquid.

"You take me for a fool? I refuse." she replied defiantly.

"I'm not trying to poison you lady, I'm trying to help. You're exhausted, and probably have a cold developing. This'll help it pass."

Charlotte glared at the IS.

"Fine. You're friend is alive. You are here because I found you asleep in a cave and I brought you back here to treat you."

"I don't want your help." she responded harshly.

"Then don't. It doesn't matter to me. But what does matter, is your presence here. You found me, and your allies are probably out looking for you by now. Your exoskeleton, or 'IS', probably has a tracker. They'll be here soon, that much I know. So we're leaving." it finished.

Charlotte was about to retort, but a new voice stopped her.

"It's alright Charlotte. Don't get mad."

Charlotte snapped her vision, finding Ichika sitting calmly, and unbound.

"Ichika? You're alright, thank goodness." she said with great relief.

Ichika smiled at her concern. "Yes, I am. My captor treated me with care. He's not a bad person."

"Person?" Charlotte asked with a confused expression.

"Well...alien anyway." Ichika added.

"ALIEN?!" Charlotte exclaimed fearfully.

Ichika chuckled. "Don't worry, he won't hurt us. He's just a little...um...lost."

"Lost?"

"Yeah, he's lost. He didn't mean to attack the academy, he was just scouting the planet." Ichika explained.

Charlotte looked at Ichika, concerned. "Is it true though? Are you sure he's not lying? He could be trying to fool you Ichika."

Before Ichika could reply, her captor interjected.

"Yes it's true and no, I'm not lying. If I really wanted to attack your academy, it would be a pile of fiery rubble by now."

Charlotte shot an angry scowl at her captor's dark declaration.

"I'd like to see you try" she said challengingly.

"No. You wouldn't. If you would just let me continue, I'll explain."

Charlotte kept her planned rebuttal to herself, reluctantly allowing her captor to continue.

"After great consideration, I've decided to take you home. I would prefer to avoid a diplomatic incident with your planet."

"You'll never get there, Orimura-sensei gave orders to kill you on sight." Charlotte explained hotly.

"I can handle myself." he paused "If I die, then so be it." he finished coldly.

Charlotte and Ichika fell into instantaneous shock at his words.

"Don't you care if you live or die?!" Ichika asked exasperatedly.

"It's my duty as a soldier to protect humanity, whatever the cost. A soldier is expendable in combat."

"But you have to have something worth living for!" Ichika replied.

Jaeger froze at Ichika's words. He didn't know why, but Ichika's phrase triggered something, a hazy memory. He could see a small apparition materialize in his mind, it was blurry. He couldn't make it out. Then, he felt a sudden pain hit his chest, like a knife through his heart. He placed his hand over his chest plate in confusion. _What is this feeling of sorrow? Why do I feel so...defeated?_ he asked himself.

Charlotte noticed that the alien didn't answer Ichika, she saw him lower his head and clutch his chest. _He looks so...sad_ she thought sympathetically. She quickly remembered something that her captor had said.

"Wait- did you say 'humanity'?" she asked confusedly.

Jaeger pushed the blurry apparition from his mind as he raised his head at Charlotte.

"All will become clear soon. You'll get your answers, and I'll get mine."

Charlotte went quiet at his words, glancing over to Ichika, who shrugged as a response. Seeing the two teenagers exchange, Jaeger decided to press on. He walked over to Charlotte, pulling out his combat knife. She noticed the knife, clenching her eyes shut, bracing for what followed. She felt something press down lightly onto her shoulder. She slowly opened one of her eyes, her fear being replaced with surprise. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw her would-be captor kneeling before her, with one of his hands on her shoulder. Charlotte glanced over to Ichika who was wearing an understanding smile.

"Relax. I'm just going to cut your bindings." Jaeger said reassuringly.

She nodded, and Jaeger cut through the restraints. Charlotte rubbed her arms, relieved that she was now free. She looked up at Jaeger, unable to stop a small smile of gratitude from gracing her lips.

Jaeger felt the heat return to his face again. He nodded and stood up, offering a hand to Charlotte. She took it and he pulled her gently off the ground.

"Alright. Let's go" Jaeger declared curtly.

Charlotte and Ichika gave him a short nod, following the SPARTAN to the pelican.

* * *

 _At the Academy-_

"Charlotte still hasn't got back yet, I'm a little worried." Houki said sombrely.

Cecilia, Rin and Laura agreed. They were all worried. Charlotte wasn't at the academy when they got back from their own searches. The door slammed open, breaking the grave atmosphere. The four girls looked to see Chifuyu standing between the door frame.

"All of you, follow me. Now." Chifuyu said firmly.

The girls didn't hesitate, following Chifuyu with a brisk pace. Minutes pass and the five of them reach battle arena 6. They found they weren't alone, the arena was filled to the brim by students and instructors alike, each in their own IS unit. They all came to a halt.

"Orimura-sensei, why are we here?" Cecilia asked curiously.

"We received a strange reading on a trajectory course to this arena. We believe its the unknown IS" she replied seriously.

The girls went straight into action, knowing that a fight was coming, they deployed their IS, ready to face the drone.

All was silent in the arena, the only sound was the light breeze and the rustling of leaves in the air. The silence continued, until a faint sound of whirring shattered it. The occupants of the arena searched the sky, but they found nothing. Suddenly the faint whirring became a roar as the aircraft appeared from nowhere. The pilots were about to leap into action, but a sudden mechanical voice from the aircraft stopped them.

"Attention, Attention. Cease hostilities. Civilians onboard, I repeat Civilians on board. Hold your fire."

Chifuyu raised her arm with her fist clenched. The instructors and students stood down, but kept up their guard.

After Chifuyu prevented the multitude of pilots from engaging the aircraft, it turned itself 180º, the back of the aircraft now facing Chifuyu and the girls. The girls tensed slightly as the aircraft landed, the sound of its engines dying down. The back of the aircraft began to open slowly. After an eternity passed, the ramp opened fully, revealing two people they weren't expecting.

"ICHIKA?! CHARLOTTE?!" The girls exclaimed in unison.

Ichika rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, while Charlotte smiled nervously. The two of them exited the aircraft heading toward the rest of the girls and Chifuyu. Within a split-second, Ichika was tackled to the ground by Houki, with tears in her eyes.

"You idiot! Where have you been?" she asked hysterically.

Ichika smiled at Houki's concern, rubbing her back as a response. Houki released Ichika from her death grip, allowing him to stand. As soon as he did, he was stuck into another embrace, this time from Chifuyu.

"Welcome back Ichika." she said tenderly.

Ichika was shocked at his sister's action. She let him go after a few moments pass. She looked at him with a serious expression as she locked her eyes with his.

"Ichika. Where is it?" she asked

"Where's what?" Ichika responded.

"The IS that captured you."

Before Ichika could answer, loud thundering footsteps came from the back of the aircraft.

Houki, Cecilia, Rin and Laura didn't hesitate to redeploy their IS', with their weapons at the ready. The thundering sound of metal against metal got closer, ceasing as the source came into view. Ichika's captor. The girls were about to leap into action, but Chifuyu held out her arm, signalling them to stop. The girls reluctantly complied.

Chifuyu and Jaeger walked slowly toward one another, coming to a halt a meter away from each other. They remained standing stoically, each staring into the others eyes, or visor in Chifuyu's case.

All was quiet, until Chifuyu spoke.

"Why are you here? Do you plan on attacking us once more?"

Jaeger shook his head slowly.

"Then why are you here?"

Jaeger paused, but answered her question nonetheless.

"Returning you're students." he replied neutrally.

The atmosphere between them remained tense, one wrong word would break the fragile peace.

"Why?" Chifuyu asked cautiously.

"To avoid a diplomatic incident." he answered.

Chifuyu paused. "What are you?"

"A soldier."

"From which nation?"

"The UNSC."

"What is this UNSC? Are you terrorists?"

"No." Jaeger replied shortly.

"Then what?"

"It's complicated."

"Then explain."

"The UNSC is the United Nations Space Command of the United Earth Government." he explained.

"Stop lying. There's no such thing as the UNSC or the United Earth Government here." Chifuyu stated.

 _Looks like this is the only way_ Jaeger thought internally. He moved his hands up to his helmet, ignoring the girl's edging for their weapons. A small hiss sounded as he removed his helmet.

"Maybe not here, but on my planet there is."

The girls jaws dropped, along with Ichika's and Charlotte's. The only person who was unfazed was Chifuyu.

"Your planet?"

"Yes." Jaeger paused. "A second earth."

"You do realise that what your saying is impossible."

Instead of replying, Jaeger pulled out Athena from his interface. She materialized, making all the observers eyes widen. Chifuyu on the other hand kept her stoic expression.

"If you'll allow me to, I'll explain."

 **And there you have it! Chapter 8! Chapter 9 is already in progress, so expect the next update real soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I don't own Halo or Infinite Stratos, the rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _Chifuyu's office-_

"Alright, start explaining. Tell us everything." Chifuyu said firmly.

All attention was on Athena, the five girls, Ichika, Chifuyu and Maya waiting for the explanation.

"My name is Athena. I am an advanced artificial intelligence. My big friend over there" she paused pointing at Jaeger "Is a SPARTAN-II commando, created for the specific purpose of protecting humanity and all of its colonies, from any threat. I'll give you the short version. In our timeline, humanity has spread beyond earth, into the further reaches of the galaxy to establish colonies. This was all possible thanks to the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight engine, capable of utilising faster-than-light travel, or 'slip-space'. In the year 2525, humanity was attacked by an alliance of aliens known as 'the covenant'. Humanity and the Covenant entered a bloody war of attrition for many years, the only reason why we lasted so long was because of the SPARTAN-II's. Like my friend here, they were the vanguard in the war, keeping humanity in the fight as colony after colony fell."

She paused, inspecting the expressions everyone held. Chifuyu remained stoic, while everyone else had fear and sympathy etched onto their faces.

"So you fought in the war?" Rin asked Jaeger sympathetically.

He looked over to Rin. "Yes." he replied neutrally.

Rin kept her sympathetic look, as did the other girls.

"So how did you get here?" Chifuyu asked.

"In 2531, my friend and I were stationed aboard the UNSC _Spirit of Fire,_ under the command of Captain James Cutter. We served with Red Team, a group of SPARTANS, led by Jerome-092, along with Sergeant John Forge, a marine. We liberated a captured colony known as Harvest, evacuated another colony by the name of Arcadia and last but not least, prevented the covenant from turning the tide of the war. On the 17th of March that year, we tracked our enemy to an unknown hollow planet. In order to prevent the covenant from leaving the planet, a plan was set out to detonate the _Spirit of Fire's_ nuclear reactor in the planets sun, causing a supernova, that as far as we know, would of destroyed the entire planet. Along with anyone still on it."

"So how are you still alive?" Maya asked curiously.

"The original plan was to send the _Spirit of Fire_ into the sun, but my friend here had other ideas." Athena answered, making Jaeger shift uncomfortably under the new attention everyone was giving him.

"What happened?" Laura asked.

"He suggested that we load a pelican, the aircraft we arrived here with, with the reactor. The pilot would then fly into the sun and detonate the reactor manually, therefore allowing the rest of the crew to escape the planet before it was destroyed. He volunteered to be the pilot, knowing that it was a one-way-trip. The two of us reached the sun and activated the reactor. Next thing we know, we were in high orbit around this planet. The rest, you already know." Athena finished.

All eyes were now on Jaeger. He made a small glance at the girls, all with glassy eyes, except Laura. She had an expression of...pride? That last part struck the super soldier as strange. Why was she the only exception? One would have to have been in a similar situation to hold such pride. Jaeger, with his superior mind almost immediately understood. She was a soldier as well. _Interesting_. _.._ he mused.

"So you knew you were going to die? And you went ahead with it anyway? Don't you care whether you live or die?" Rin asked shakily.

Jaeger remained silent. But it was brief, he raised his head, holding it high proudly.

"It's my duty as a soldier, and a SPARTAN to protect humanity. No matter the cost. That planetoid had to be destroyed, the threat it posed to humanity was too high to ignore." he responded with pride.

He didn't notice Charlotte approach him, until her hand rested on top of his. He turned his head slowly, locking his steel blue eyes with her purple ones. Something shifted within his mind, a memory, like it had happened before.

"You say that like soldiers and humanity are two different things. Soldiers aren't machines, they're just people, like everyone else. Don't say it like your life doesn't matter." Charlotte said softly.

Jaeger kept his eyes locked with hers, feeling the same warm feeling he felt when he first met her.

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me! You see you big idiot, I'm not the only one that cares." Athena exclaimed.

"Alright enough of that." Chifuyu declared.

Jaeger and Charlotte broke their eye contact, she removed her hand, and stepped back to join the other girls, all of which looked at her with raised eyebrows. Charlotte blushed lightly, keeping her gaze fixated on the ground. Jaeger turned his attention back to Chifuyu.

"I find it hard to believe. I mean, aliens? I need evidence if you want me to believe you." she declared.

Jaeger glanced at Athena, she gave a nod, signalling her to take over.

"If you want evidence, we can show you. But, you might not like what you see."

Chifuyu didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm sure."

Athena turned back to Jaeger, who gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Then I need some form of projector. Anything that can display images."

Chifuyu didn't hesitate to move to her desk. She pressed a small button underneath the desk top, a small section of the desk rising up as she did so. Jaeger proceeded to the newly opened desk, holding Athena's data chip near the protruding section of the desk. A small stream of blue light jumped from the chip to the desk. Given the fact that UNSC technology wasn't compatible with anything from this reality, the next best alternative was to have Athena 'jump' from the chip to the port. It was one of the many advantages of AI's, they were extremely versatile and could integrate with old technology with ease. Within moments, a blank square of light appeared on the wall.

"Show them Athena."

The blank square of light changed, now showing rushing images. Everyone in the room looked intently at the images, their expressions changing from curiosity to terror. The images displayed various battles between the covenant and the UNSC. The images stopped abruptly, a video started to play in their place. From a first person perspective, a tall green titan stood combat ready, with a group of young looking teenagers, no older than the IS pilots..

"Chief, take the cadets to the extraction point, I'll buy you time." a familiar voice ordered.

The green-armoured titan gave a small nod. "I'll see you back on the ship Sev. Don't take too long."

With that said, the large soldier left with the group with a brisk pace.

The view shifted, now showing a cluster of trees. It was quiet for a while, until a faint sound of footsteps could be heard.

"Get ready Athena, we have company."

As the voice spoke, numerous monsters emerged from the cluster of trees. Some were small and dwarf-like and others looked like bird hybrids with glowing shield on their arms. But what stood out the most was the two heavily armoured, 12 ft giants with spikes protruding from their backs and what looked like a cannon and a shield on their arms.

The scene spiralled into chaos. Glowing green projectiles sped toward the camera's view. The view shook violently as the projectiles flew out of sight. A futuristic assault rifle came into view near the bottom of the video screen, and it began pouring out bullets from its barrel. The horrifying creatures fell one after the other as the gunfire continued.

The gunfire ceased as the view shook violently once again as a large green projectile exploded in front of the camera. The view snapped to one of the giant monstrosities, and within seconds the scene began to change, the giant getting closer and closer. A fist came out, striking the behemoth, making it stumbled backwards. Now stunned, another punch struck the giant, this time penetrating the exposed worm-like skin . The fist pulled out and the camera rushed backwards. A few seconds pass, and the giant exploded, orange blood and body pieces splattering onto the ground. A bestial roar was heard as a large metal object struck the originator of the perspective, sending them flying backwards. A low grunt was heard as they collided with the grassy ground. The view snapped to the other beast, which was now charging toward the camera. The view rose, the worm-like monster now within reach with its shielded arm raised. Suddenly, the view shifted once more, the ground switching places with the sky. This ended quickly, and the vision snapped to the titan, the skin on its back exposed. A singular loud gunshot sounded, spraying orange blood over the camera lens. The monster fell with a loud thud. The video ended at that point, the blank white screen returning.

The room was quiet, no one could speak. They were frozen with shock by the spectacle they had just witnessed. Cecilia broke the silence.

"W-what was t-that?" she asked shakily.

"That was the battle of Circinius IV. The marine academy on the planet was attacked by the covenant, leaving only three cadets alive. The main objective was to evacuate the students off-planet before the covenant glassed the planet." Jaeger paused "I was one of the SPARTANS sent in." he finished.

"Glassed?" Laura asked.

"It's a phrase. The covenant fire plasma from orbit, melting anything and everything in its path, leaving nothing but ashes." Jaeger replied darkly.

"My god. They were the only survivors of the academy?" Chifuyu asked.

"No. The entire planet." Jaeger answered blankly.

The atmosphere became morbid upon Jaeger's words. Jaeger went ahead, and held the data chip near the port, allowing Athena to perform the jump, inserting her back into his interface. He turned to address Chifuyu.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked.

Chifuyu hesitated to answer, but gave it nonetheless.

"Yes, you've made you're point. But one thing still remains. What happens now?"

"That, I will leave to you ma'am." Jaeger replied.

Ichika and the girls, along with Maya, turned their gaze to Chifuyu, waiting for her response. Moments pass by, and she spoke up.

"Don't you want to go back?" she asked.

"I do. But I have no means of doing so, not without the right technology." Jaeger clarified.

"Then it's decided. You will remain here, under strict supervision, until we can find a way of getting you back home. In exchange however, you will repair the areas of the academy that you damaged." Chifuyu declared.

His militaristic habit kicked in, as he gave he a quick salute. "Understood. Thank you Ma'am."

"Just don't make me regret it. While I sort out your residence, you can get started on repairs. Maya, please escort him to the training grounds to begin the repairs." Chifuyu added.

"Of course Miss Orimura." Maya replied.

Maya walked to the door, gesturing for Jaeger to follow, which he did so, placing his helmet back on. As the two of them were about to leave, Chifuyu interrupted them with one last inquiry.

"One more thing before you go, what is your name?"

Jaeger turned his head, glancing over his shoulder.

"Sev. My name is Sev."

And with that done, he left the office with Maya.

* * *

"Hey guys, looks over here!" a girl exclaimed.

A group of girls congregated to see what the fuss was about.

"What, what is it?" another girl asked.

But the girl only pointed down the corridor, the other girl's gaze followed. They gasped as they saw what she was pointing at. The 6t tall black-armoured giant.

Jaeger followed Maya down the corridor, noticing the drawing crowd of students all gawking at noticed that they had fear written all over their faces. _Hmm... if I'm going to stay here, I better make a good impression, my first one wasn't exactly exemplary_ he thought. One girl stood out from the others, she was wearing a strange fox-like costume. He didn't know why, but she reminded him of someone he met, the memory of which he couldn't remember. It was at that moment where he realised that he stopped, staring at the girl. He approached her carefully, as not to incite more fear into the already scared girl. Jaeger was standing in front of the girl, dwarfing her by a good 1ft and a half. The strangely dressed girl looked up fearfully into Jaeger's visor, trembling slightly at the intimidating sight. The behemoth knelt down, now face to face with the girl. She was frozen, finding herself unable to move. Just as she was fearing the worst, she saw the armour-clad giant reach up to his helmet and remove it. What she was faced with was something she wasn't expecting.

A man. Jaeger gave her a rare comforting smile.

"Don't be afraid ma'am. I won't hurt you." he said deeply.

The girl's eyes widened slightly at the man's surprisingly comforting words, as did the girls around her.

Maya turned around to see if 'Sev' was following her. He wasn't. She was surprised to see him kneeling in front of a student with his helmet placed under his arms. But what really caught her eye, was his smile. She never would of expected to see him smiling, since all he ever did was remain stoic, at least she assumed so anyway. He reminded her of Chifuyu in a way.. She backtracked to where he was, clearing her throat lightly as she reached him.

Jaeger glanced to see his escort standing a few feet away, he was confused at first but realised that she was waiting for him to follow her. Getting the hint, he stood up and replaced his helmet back onto his head, returning to her side and continuing to the training grounds. He looked back at the strangely dressed girl,now surrounded by a horde of squabbling girls, smiling once more under his visor.

 _How interesting Jaeger._

 _Athena?_

 _You're smiling._

 _Is that a problem?_

 _No. In fact I'm surprised more than anything._

…

 _Jaeger?_

…

 _I'm confused. It's that girl. It feels like I've met someone like her before, but I can't remember._

…

 _It's nothing you need to worry about Jaeger. You're just acting on your emotions._

 _But a soldier isn't supposed to act on their emotions. They have to act based on tactics and logic._

 _Don't you remember what that girl said to you, about soldiers not being machines, but people?_

…

 _Yes, I do._

 _Then take it to heart._

…

 _..._

 _Fine._

"We're here!" Maya exclaimed cheerfully.

Jaeger snapped out of his inner thoughts, noticing that while he was talking with Athena, they had reached the training grounds. He looked around, seeing the cracked concrete wall he launched the silver haired girl into, the large craters in the ground from the missiles impact. He groaned inwardly at the sight, knowing that he had to repair all of this carnage. _I'm a SPARTAN, not a construction worker. I kill, I don't build_ he thought.

"Okay, you can start on the wall over there today and you can fill in the craters tomorrow. An instructor will be along shortly to bring you the necessary tools and materials, they'll also be keeping an eye on you as well, so don't try anything funny mister." Maya explained.

Jaeger acknowledged the command with a nod. With his confirmation that he understood, Maya left to bring back the instructor, leaving Jaeger all by his lonesome.

 _Wonderful, look at this mess._

 _Well that's what you get for totalling the place._

 _Me? What about you? If I recall you were the one who made most of these craters._

 _And where would you be if I hadn't shown up?_

…

 _That's what I thought._

Jaeger was about to retort, but the instructor arrived. She had a cautious look on her face, but she handed Jaeger the tools and materials for the repairs. Jaeger took them, wasting no time in getting started.

* * *

 _Ugh, I don't understand any of this, Yamada-sensei sure wasn't lying when she said this semester was going to be harder_ Ichika thought.

Ichika sighed, with his head propped up with one of his arms on his desk, with a bored expression. A sudden whack on the head broke his boredom.

"Ichika! Pay attention!"

Ichika looked up, rubbing his sore spot. His sister was standing before him, a threatening aura emanating off her. He quickly replied as to not incite her wrath.

"Sorry Orimura-sensei!"

Chifuyu crossed her arms over her chest, satisfied with Ichika's response, returning to her teaching.

"Alright class, I want each of your assignments in by next week!"

The class all groaned, but replied anyway. "Yes Miss Orimura."

"Good. Class dismissed." Chifuyu finished.

The students didn't hesitate to heave themselves from their desks and out of the classroom. Ichika was especially glad that the lesson was over. He went over to Houki.

"Hey Houki, lets go get something to eat, I'm starved!" he exclaimed.

Houki frowned a little "Is that all you think about Ichika?" she replied.

Ichika was about to retort, a strange grumbling sound interrupted him. It was then he realised that Houki was clutching her stomach, with a crimson face. He smiled slightly.

"Well someone's hungry." Ichika said slyly.

This made Houki blush even more at his words, furrowing her brows to show her irritation.

"Let's just go!" she said with a flustered voice.

Ichika laughed lightly at her response, another voice breaking his laughter.

"Hey! Don't forget about us!"

Ichika and Houki glanced to see Cecilia, Laura and Charlotte standing together with slightly irritated expressions. Ichika raised his hands, trying to defuse a possible cat-fight.

"Hey, hey don't worry, we just about to get you guys." he said nervously.

Cecilia crossed her arms "Well good. Let's get going then." she responded.

With that said, Ichika and the girls left the classroom, heading to the cafeteria. A few minutes into their journey, they met Rin along the way, who happily joined them in their quest for nourishment.

* * *

 _At the training grounds-_

 _Took you long enough. Aren't SPARTANS supposed to be efficient?_

…

 _Hey! Are you listening to me Jaeger?_

 _I am. I'm just choosing to ignore you._

 _Why you b-_

Jaeger tuned out Athena as he inspected his handiwork. The previously shattered wall now stood fully repaired, with any sign of previous damage gone. Being a SPARTAN, he was meticulous in the repair. He was taught to perform to the best of his ability, in combat anyway; but Jaeger didn't see much of a difference. It would of gone against everything he trained for to give anything less than the best. That was why he had Athena give him a crash course in DIY, which he admittedly disliked. But he bore through it, it was necessary if he wanted the best results. His job now done, he turned to address his supposed 'guard', who happened to be snoozing.

"The wall has been repaired as ordered ma'am." he said blankly.

The instructor snapped awake, her eyes darting around. She looked to see Jaeger towering over her, the wall behind fully repaired. She quickly responded to avoid any further embarrassment.

"R-right. Then... er..."

"What now?" he asked plainly.

"Well...um.."

As she was fumbling over her words, Jaeger voiced his mind.

"Should I report to Orimura ma'am?" he suggested.

The woman ceased her fumbling, attempting to recollect herself. She gave a quick nod to Jaeger.

"Y-yes, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go." she replied.

* * *

 _Chifuyu's office-_

"SPARTAN-777 reporting ma'am." Jaeger declared stiffly.

"Is it done?" Chifuyu asked.

"Yes. Repairs to the wall have been completed." Jaeger replied swiftly.

"Good." she acknowledged.

The two stood facing each other, an awkward silence arising between the two. Jaeger decided to break the silence.

"Now what?" he asked.

Before Chifuyu could give an answer, Jaeger's stomach growled. He suddenly felt uncomfortable as Chifuyu looked at him. To his surprise, she gave a small smile.

"I believe your stomach knows the answer to that. I'll have Miss Yamada take you to the cafeteria." she answered while raising her hand to her earpiece. "Maya, could you please report to my office?".

After waiting for a few minutes, Miss Yamada arrived at Chifuyu's office. She quickly addressed Chifuyu as she entered.

"Is there something you need Miss Orimura?" she inquired.

"Yes. Could you escort our friend here to the cafeteria?" Chifuyu asked.

Maya nodded as a response. She returned to the door, gesturing for Jaeger to follow. He acknowledged the gesture. He stopped in the doorway, glancing back at Chifuyu. He still had one more thing to say.

"Where will I be staying ma'am?"

"I've already made arrangements. You will be staying in room 1026."

"Thank you ma'am." he relied gratefully.

With that resolved, Jaeger took his leave with Maya.

As the door closed behind them, Chifuyu pulled out her cellphone and dialled in a number, instantly regretting doing so as the recipient answered.

"CHIIIIIIIIII-CHAAAAAAN!" the voice screamed.

Chifuyu held the phone away from her ear. "Control yourself Tabane, are you ready to come to the academy yet?"

"Of course! I've just about finished up here, I'll be there by tomorrow!" Tabane relied happily.

"Do try to control yourself when you meet him Tabane, the last thing I need is for him to freak out over your antics." Chifuyu said wearily.

"Awww... Chi-chan, you're so mean!" she responded childishly.

"Goodbye Tabane" Chifuyu said blankly.

Without waiting for a reply, Chifuyu hung up, letting out a long sigh.

 _Sometimes I really worry about that woman_ she thought to herself.

* * *

"Okay! Here we are! Now all you have to do is walk right over there and ask for what you want!" Maya exclaimed as she pointed to the counter.

"Thank you Miss Yamada." Jaeger replied.

Maya went slightly red at Jaeger's grateful reply "Y-your w-welcome. Now run along before all the food's gone." she said bashfully.

Jaeger heeded her advice, heading toward the counter. As he was doing so, he noticed everyone he passed stare at him. This didn't bother him though, he was used to garnering stares from people, he was a SPARTAN after all.

Within no time at all, he reached the counter, towering over the woman on the opposite side. She looked up at him in surprise.

"W-what can I-I get you s-sir?" she asked shakily.

"Whatever you recommend ma'am. I'm not accustomed to this kind of food." Jaeger replied, unfazed by the woman's shaky query.

"I-in t-that case, h-how about s-some o-onigiri and m-miso soup?" she suggested

Jaeger gave a small nod as a form of acceptance. The cook collected the onigiri and poured the miso soup into a small bowl. Before she gave them to Jaeger, he interjected.

"Excuse me ma'am, but could you give more than that. I have a large appetite."

The cook nodded fearfully, piling more onigiri onto the tray and pouring another bowl of miso soup. She handed the tray to Jaeger as she finished.

"Thank you ma'am." Jaeger said.

"N-no p-problem." she replied.

Jaeger took his meal to an empty booth, sitting down roughly and placing the tray down. He removed his helmet and placed it aside. He picked up one of the onigiri, inspecting it for a short while. _It has an odd shape_ he thought to himself. He shrugged off the thought and was about to take a bite, but stopped when he felt a presence watching him.

He looked up to see the strangely dressed girl he met earlier standing in front of him, her legs trembling slightly. He also noticed two other girls with her, both of which also seemed to be trembling.

"M-m-may w-w-we s-sit d-down with y-you?" the strangely dressed girl asked.

Jaeger gave a nod, and the three girls sat opposite him. He took the first bite out of the oddly-shaped rice ball. _Well the taste is...interesting_ he thought internally. He glanced to see the girls looking at him quizzically.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

The strangely dressed girl jumped slightly at Jaeger's question.

"N-no." she replied quietly.

Jaeger was getting slightly irritated at this point.

"Please ma'am, I'm trained to notice the smallest details. I can tell something is bothering you. So, I'll ask again. Is something wrong."

The strangely dressed girl hesitated "W-well, I w-wanted to t-talk. If t-that's a-alright w-with you."

Jaeger contemplated to himself.

 _What do you suggest Athena?_

 _I think it would be a good idea to leave a lasting impression Jaeger. Maybe you can make some new friends as well!_

…

 _Very well._

"What's on your mind ma'am?" Jaeger inquired politely.

"I-I was wondering if you c-could tell us y-your name." she asked curiously.

"My name is Sev." he answered. "And you?"

"H-Honne Nohotoke."

"Hmm... that's an interesting name." Jaeger said nonchalantly.

Honne blushed lightly. "T-thank you."

An awkward silence arose between the group, neither knowing what else to say. The four of them ate in silence as the time passed by. Jaeger eventually broke the awkward atmosphere.

"Is that all you're having?" he asked.

"W-well, we eat enough snacks. Y-you seem to eat quiet a bit though." she said bravely.

"As a SPARTAN, I need to eat as much as I can. Our bodies require more sustenance than normal humans." he replied informatively.

"SPARTAN? Normal humans?" Honne asked confusedly.

Jaeger knew where this was going. He couldn't reveal too much, but he could tell them the absolute minimum. There was no point in holding back anyway. "I'm a super soldier ma'am. I've been...modified to have superior bodily functions. Hence the reason why I need more food than ordinary people."

The girls expression quickly changed, they were now all in awe. "Wow! Does that mean you're super strong? Can you run really fast? Do you have night vision?" she rambled excitedly.

Caught off guard by Honne's shift in personality, all Jaeger could do was nod.

"That's is so coooooool!" she exclaimed.

"It is, isn't it?" a voice spoke rhetorically.

The girls looked around for the source of the voice. Jaeger sighed inwardly, knowing who the owner of the voice was. He would of preferred to keep his annoying AI out of the equation, but like always she found a way to interject. He briefly recalled all the times she had appeared unannounced. Needless to say the intimidating image he usually held diminished after each encounter. So with great reluctance, he removed Athena from his neural interface, placing the chip down onto the table. The girls looked curiously at the device, flinching slightly as Athena's avatar materialized.

"Hey there!" Athena said cheerfully.

The girls were in wonderment at the new arrival.

"Wow! A mini person!" Honne said excitedly.

Athena smiled at the girl's exuberance. "Hello, my name is Athena." she said happily.

"What are you Miss Athena?" Honne asked curiously.

"I'm an Artificial Intelligence construct!" she responded joyfully.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really do have intelligence Athena." Jaeger interjected.

Athena put her hands on her hips and pouted at Jaeger.

"And what's that supposed to mean? Your not exactly the brightest of individuals! Need I remind you of Arcadia?" she replied hotly.

"Well how was I supposed to know that that teleporter led to the capital ship?" he responded with just as much hostility.

Before Athena could rebuke, a small giggle stopped her. Athena and Jaeger glanced to see Honne and the other girls laughing. The two of them were confused at first, but Honne quickly explained.

"I'm sorry, it's just the two of you argue like an old married couple."

"Trust me, working with Athena for as long as I have will drive you up the wall." Jaeger said stressfully.

"Hey!" Athena said irritatedly.

The girls only laughed more at their antics. Even Jaeger was finding it very difficult to stop himself from chuckling lightly with the girls. The laughter ceased when a new voice interrupted.

"What's so funny Honne?" it asked.

The girls and Jaeger turned to see Ichika and his friends standing before them.

"It's nothing Ichika, we're just having a little talk with Sev here."

"Do you mind if we join you?" Ichika asked.

"Of course! The more the merrier right?"

Ichika, Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura sat down with the the others, placing their trays down. Just as they sat down, Jaeger glanced to the clock on the wall, picking up Athena's data chip and putting it back into his interface. He stood up, collecting his now empty tray.

"Hey, where are you going?" Honne asked, a little disappointed.

"I'd rather not interfere with your catching up. And I need to find my room." he replied.

"You wouldn't be interfering!" Honne said, almost desperately.

"It's alright Honne. Let him go." Ichika interjected, somewhat seriously.

Jaeger gave a nod to Ichika as thanks, walking away to put his tray back, and leaving the cafeteria.

As Jaeger left, Honne spoke up.

"Why'd you let him go Ichika?" she asked.

Ichika was hesitant to reply, but did so reluctantly. "He's not a very sociable person Honne. He's a soldier, one who lost a lot of friends fighting in a war."

"He fought in a war?" Honne asked quietly.

Ichika and the other girls glanced to each other. Deciding that it would be best for her to know, he retold what Jaeger had told him and the girls in Chifuyu's office. As he described Jaeger's past, Honne and her friends began to feel sympathy for the SPARTAN. He finished explaining, and Honne spoke once more.

"That's so sad. But... wouldn't he feel better making new friends?" she asked softly.

"I don't know if you know this already, but he's not staying long." Ichika replied.

"What? Why?" she inquired sadly.

"He wants to go back home Honne." he responded.

"Home? But wouldn't that mean going back to war? To all that terrible fighting? Why would he want that?"

Ichika furrowed his brow slightly, glancing to the entrance of the cafeteria. "Because...fighting is all he knows how to do."

* * *

Jaeger wondered aimlessly in the dormitory, trying to locate his room. He was finding it difficult to find room 1026, as Athena was bugging him over the events that transpired in the cafeteria.

 _Why would you leave like that Jaeger?! You were actually getting somewhere!_

…

 _You realise that we're not staying forever Athena. You know as well as I that I wasn't myself during that conversation, it was completely unprofessional. Besides, if I made friends here it would just be more...difficult... to say goodbye._

 _Oh Jaeger..._

 _It's alright Athena, maybe this is for the best._

 _If you say so Jaeger._

…

 _Athena could you help me find room 1026, I'm getting nowhere here._

 _Fu-fu, is little Jaeger lost?_

…

 _Athena._

 _Alright fine! Lighten up will ya?_

With Athena's words said, a small waypoint appeared on Jaeger's HUD. He wasted no time in following the directions, he didn't want to have to spend the rest of the day searching the entire dormitory just to find one room. It took him a while, but he eventually reached room 1026. _Finally_ he thought impatiently.

He opened the door and swiftly entered the room, closing the door behind him hastily. He took a good look around the room. It wasn't what he was used to, he noticed two comfortable looking single beds, two oak wardrobes and a small desk. He also noticed another door to his left, intrigued, he opened the door, finding an en suite bathroom. In all, the room was more than he expected. As a SPARTAN, he was trained to make do with whatever he could get. Most of the time he slept on the floor, he couldn't remember the last time he slept on a real bed. Perhaps he never had in the first place.

He walked to the closest bed, lightly pressing down on it. _There's no way this will be able to support my weight_ he thought. Knowing that without an AAU he couldn't remove his armour, he improvised. He lifted the seemingly weightless mattress off the bed and placed it on the floor. Now satisfied, he dropped himself onto the mattress, turning himself onto his back. He thoughtlessly reached for his dogtags, holding them enclosed in his hand.

 _What's the matter Jaeger?_

 _Nothing it's just..._

 _Just what?_

 _..._

 _I just miss Reach. My brothers and sisters, hell, I even miss 1337. I hope John's alright._

 _Knowing him, he's probably off somewhere giving the covenant hell._

 _Yeah..._

…

 _Athena?_

 _Yeah?_

 _Do you think we'll really make it back?_

 _I'm not sure Jaeger. But I like to think that we will._

…

 _Yeah, me too._

And with that, Jaeger fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

 _A young boy sat in the crop fields, playing with a toy pelican. He made whooshing sounds as he motioned the pelican in his hand through the air. He laughed lightly as he spun around, outstretching his arms. A warm voice interrupted his spinning._

" _Come on Jaeger! Dinner's ready!" it said._

 _The boy smiled widely as he heard the voice, running through the crops as he made his way to a small house in the distance. He reached the house, leaning on his knees to catch his breath. He heard laughter as he looked up to see a young woman with long, black wavy hair and blue eyes, dressed in a simple dress covered with a beige apron._

" _Were you playing army again dear?" she asked kindly._

 _The boy grinned. "Yeah! I really wanna be like dad!"_

" _Well you certainly have the heart Jaeger." she replied cheerfully._

 _He was about to respond, but the sound of heavy footsteps interrupted him. The boys grin only widened as he saw the owner of the footsteps._

" _And how is our little rascal? Is he playing army again dear?"_

 _The woman turned to the new arrival. "That's right dear, he says he wants to be like you when he's older."_

" _Yeah dad, I wanna protect people like you do!" the boy exclaimed joyfully._

" _I'm sure you do son. The people of the galaxy need someone to protect them. In time, I know you'll make one hell of a soldier." the man replied warmly._

" _Thanks dad!" the said as he hugged his father's legs._

" _Come on now, let's go have dinner. I can't wait to try your mother's apple pie!" the man said heartedly._

 _The woman slapped his arm playfully. "Oh dear, you are such a tease!"._

 _The man only laughed, scooping up his son in his arms, wrapping his arm affectionately around his wife's waist. "I try dear."_

 _The three of them burst out laughing as they entered the house, closing the door behind them._

Jaeger burst awake, sitting up sharply. He was breathing heavily, as if he had run a 24 mile marathon. _What the hell was that?_ he asked himself. The two people in his dream called the boy by his name. _Must be a side effect from the augmentations. Halsey did mention something about some of the side effects. But why are they appearing so late? It's been years_ he thought. Pushing the memory of the dream from his mind, he lifted himself off the mattress, glancing to the clock on the wall. It read 08:00. Jaeger walked over to the bathroom, opening the door. He quickly turned on one of the taps over the sink, allowing it to fill up. Once the sink was full, he turned off the tap and removed his helmet, placing it down. He splashed his face with the cool water, washing away the slight drowsiness he was feeling. He picked up a small towel beside the sink and dried himself off.

He threw the towel aside and picked up his helmet, placing it back on. He left the bathroom and opened the door, only to see a sight he wasn't expecting.

"Ichika?" he asked, slightly surprised.

"Hey there, seems like you're my neighbour!" he replied.

"What do you want Ichika?" Jaeger asked.

"My sister wants to see you, says she's got someone you need to meet. She sent me to take you to her office."

"I see. Lead the way then." Jaeger responded blankly.

Jaeger closed the door behind him as he left with Ichika. The two walked in moderate silence as they wondered through the maze of corridors.

"What did you mean by neighbour earlier?" Jaeger asked nonchalantly.

Ichika smiled slightly. "I'm in the room next to yours, room 1025. I share a room with Charlotte."

Jaeger felt a strange sudden feeling arise from the pit of his stomach. He didn't like it. He didn't know why, but the thought of Ichika sharing a room with Charlotte made him feel...irritated? Jaeger nodded at Ichika's explanation. The silence between them returned, with Ichika breaking it this time.

"You don't talk much, do you?" he asked.

"No. I don't. SPARTANS aren't known for their socialisation skills." Jaeger answered.

"But you have friends right?" Ichika inquired boldly.

"I do." he replied shortly.

"Like who?"

"Other SPARTANS. The one in the video you saw yesterday was one of them. John-117."

"Anyone else?"

"Fred-104, Kelly-087 and..."

"And?"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"It's okay, I understand."

"Thank you."

Ichika just smiled at the SPARTAN'S gratitude.

"Ah! We're here!" Ichika exclaimed.

The two of them came to a halt outside Chifuyu's office, Jaeger was too immersed in the conversation to realise that they had reached their destination. Ichika knocked on the door, a familiar voice coming from the other side.

"Come in."

Ichika opened the door entering the room, with Jaeger following. After one step, Jaeger came face to face with a strange looking pink haired woman, adorned with a light blue dress and...bunny ears?

"Why hello there!" she said exuberantly.

Before he could reply, a clipboard struck the pink-haired woman on the head. She rubbed her head gingerly, turning to address her attacker.

"Owie! That hurt Chi-chan!" she said childishly.

"What did I say Tabane? I don't you to make him feel uncomfortable." Chifuyu replied firmly.

"Jeez...you're such a killjoy Chi-chan." the woman said with a small pout.

To say Jaeger was confused was an understatement. _What the hell is wrong with this woman? She acts so childishly_ he thought.

"Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr SPARTAN! My name is Tabane Shinonono! And I'm here to get you home!" the bunny-eared woman said cheerfully.

Something within Jaeger's memory shifted, the same small blur from before. He shook the haze from his mind, but Tabane noticed that something was up.

"Is something wrong?" she asked curiously.

"No. It's nothing. You said something about getting me back home?" Jaeger inquired.

"That's right! But I'm just waiting for my assistant to arrive." Tabane replied.

"Assistant?"

"I would prefer it if you didn't refer to me by that title Doctor." a new voice interjected.

Jaeger froze as he heard the new voice speak. It was familiar, painfully so. For what seemed like an eternity, Jaeger turned to look behind him, being met with a sight that he believed impossible. He stared at the new arrival, who had the same look of shock as Jaeger. Silence loomed in the room, until the new arrival managed to find their own voice.

"Jaeger?"

…

…

"Jorge?"

 **And that's a wrap! Thought I might end on a cliffhanger. More will be explained in the next chapter, so stick around!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos, the rights belong to their respective owners.**

Chifuyu, Tabane and Ichika remained silent, the obvious tension already taking its hold. The three of them looked at the two SPARTANS, waiting for one of them to continue. But this didn't occur, the two just remained in shock, frozen in place. It wasn't until a full minute had past that Jaeger made the first move.

"What the hell are you doing here Jorge?"

Jorge didn't reply, instead he walked slowly to Jaeger, until they were feet apart.

"Impossible. This is impossible." he replied unbelievably.

"What's impossible? If you're talking about what I'm doing here then-" Jaeger started.

"Not that. No, not that." Jorge responded.

"Well what?"

"You're alive."

"Of course I'm alive, why wouldn't I be?"

"The reports, they said you were MIA. After Arcadia..."

"Then that means..."

"The _Spirit of Fire._ We found it. Cutter told us what happened."

"..."

"Is everyone alright?" Jaeger asked quietly.

Jorge smiled softly. "Yes, everyone's alright. Thanks to you."

"I just did my duty Jorge. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Always the philosophical one Jaeger." Jorge chuckled lightly "I missed that." he added softly.

Jorge held out his hand, which Jaeger took with his own, gripping it tightly.

"A Testvérem." Jorge said with a small smile.

"A Testvérem." Jaeger repeated with a smile of his own.

The two remained with their hands interlocked until Chifuyu cleared her throat lightly. The two SPARTANS released their hold, and faced Chifuyu. With their attention now on her, Chifuyu continued.

"Do you two know each other?" she asked.

"That's right ma'am. I'm a SPARTAN, just like Jaeger." Jorge explained.

"Jaeger?" Chifuyu inquired, suspiciously eyeing Jaeger.

"Yeah, I don't know any other Jaeger's." Jorge said confusedly.

Chifuyu focused fully on Jaeger, who was now beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable. He knew what she was going to say.

"I thought you said your name was Sev."

"Well it is but-"

Jorge laughed heartily as Chifuyu said this, slapping Jaeger hard on the back.

"Oh my Jaeger, you never change." he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaeger grumbled, rubbing his back.

"I'm waiting for an explanation." Chifuyu said impatiently.

"Sev is just a callsign ma'am. Jaeger is his real name." Jorge answered.

"If that's the case" she paused, turning her gaze to Jaeger. "Why didn't you tell us your real name?" she asked.

Jaeger hesitated to answer. He glanced to Jorge, who took the hint, and answered for him.

"A SPARTAN is always slow to trust. To disclose their name means they have the utmost trust in you. No offence intended of course."

Chifuyu glanced at Jaeger, then back at Jorge. "Does he not trust us then?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, it's nothing personal. SPARTANS don't trust easily." Jorge replied.

She sighed. "Fine. At least we know now."

Tabane clapped her hands together, garnering the attention of everyone in the room.

"Oh Jorgie! Why didn't you tell me you had a friend?" she said childishly.

Jorge deadpanned, while Jaeger felt the uncontrollable urge to laugh. Jorge glared at him, as if to say "don't you dare". The urge dissipated almost immediately as Jaeger met Jorge's glare.

"Believe me Doctor, I would of if I knew he was alive." he replied, turning his attention back to Tabane.

"You'll have to tell me all about it Jorgie! I can't wait!" Tabane exclaimed.

"Miss Shinonono, you were saying about getting me back?" Jaeger asked, getting slightly irritated by the exuberant woman before him.

"Oopsie, Sorry about that Mr SPARTAN! As I said earlier, I'm here to get you home, with Jorgie's help of course." she said, pointing to Jorge, who only sighed at the use of his irritable nickname.

"And how are you going to do that?" Jaeger inquired.

"Well...er...I don't exactly know yet." she replied nervously.

"..."

"I see. So why are you here then?"

Tabane pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well that's not very nice. I just wanted to see you. You piqued my interest Mr SPARTAN."

Jaeger was getting annoyed now, this woman was supposed to help him get back home and she had no idea how. Then it struck him.

"Hang on." he said while turning to Jorge. "Is that why you're still here Jorge?"

Jorge nodded. "That's right. I got here about a year ago, and Miss Shinonono still hasn't found a way to get me back during my time on this world."

"A year? Jorge, we need to get back or we could lose the war. For all we know, the covenant could of found Reach by now, maybe even Earth." Jaeger said seriously.

Jorge suddenly held his head down, his expression becoming sombre. "Jaeger, there's something you need to know."

Jaeger remained silent, already feeling the dread building up in him. He didn't like what Jorge was suggesting.

"The covenant...they-" Jorge paused lifting his gaze from the ground and locking his sorrowful eyes with Jaeger's. "They found Reach."

Jaeger could feel his blood turn cold at the revelation.

"...Did we beat them back?" Jaeger asked quietly.

Jorge shook his head. "I don't know Jaeger, but when I last saw it...we were losing. Badly."

Jaeger could feel his stoic composure crumbling as Jorge revealed more. Reach was his home. The SPARTANS home. To hear that the covenant had attacked, and more than likely glassed, made him feel great sorrow. And unrivalled fury.

"And the others? What happened to the rest of the SPARTANS?" Jaeger asked.

Jorge's expression became pained. "They're gone Jaeger. Most of them...they were on Reach when it was attacked. I'm the only remaining SPARTAN that was on Reach. As for the ones off-world...I don't know"

With Jorge's painful confirmation, it felt as if Jaeger's soul was ripped away from him. Jorge could sense his distress, reaching out to him to try to reassure him. Before he made contact, Jaeger spoke so quietly, everyone had to strain their hearing just to hear him.

"I need to be alone. I'm sorry Miss Shinonono, Miss Orimura, but can we continue this conversation later?"

Without waiting for a response, Jaeger walked out of the office, as if the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. The others just watched as Jaeger closed the door behind him.

"Is he going to be alright?" Ichika asked.

"He will. He just needs time." Jorge answered.

* * *

Jaeger wondered aimlessly around the academy. Reach was gone, he assumed anyway, since all the SPARTANS besides Jorge were all dead. It was clear, Reach had fallen. And he couldn't do anything about it. _If I had just been there, then maybe it wouldn't have fallen, then my brothers and sisters wouldn't be dead_ he thought solemnly.

 _We both know that wouldn't have been possible._

 _But if-_

 _Jaeger. Don't even think about it for a second, it's not your fault._

…

 _But-_

 _No. That's enough Jaeger, stop all this morbid thinking. You wouldn't of been able to make a difference, you would have been killed. And I'm not about to let that happen!_

…

…

 _Thank you Athena._

 _Don't thank me Jaeger, I'm just looking out for you, it's my job after all._

Even with Athena's attempt at comforting him, Jaeger still felt hollow. He kept up his mindless wandering, until reaching the his room, that he had been subconsciously heading to. Without hesitating, he opened the door, closing it a little bit too hard behind him. He collapsed onto the mattress, removing his helmet and throwing it aside.

For what seemed like an eternity, he laid there, his mind blank. All he could feel was... emptiness. And for the first time in his life, he felt his eyes moisten. Realising what was about to happen, Jaeger calmed himself. He was a SPARTAN dammit, shedding tears wouldn't bring back the dead.

He reached for his dogtags, wistfully gazing at them in his clutched hand. _Rest easy my brothers, my sisters_ he thought calmly.

A soft set of knocks on his door instantly snapped him from his thoughts. His SPARTAN instincts kicked in, reaching for his Magnum. But all he found was nothing. _How could I forget, I left my weapons on the pelican_ he groaned inwardly. Against his better judgement, he heaved himself off the mattress, clutching his side when a small measure of pain burst through his side. He forgot that he was injured. Ignoring the pain, he continued toward the door and pulled it open. He was surprised when he saw who was standing on the other side.

"Miss Dunois?" Jaeger asked questionably.

Charlotte blushed slightly at his formality "Hello Sev-san." she said sheepishly.

"Is something wrong?" he inquired.

"N-no, I just wanted to talk." she answered.

"I see." he replied nonchalantly, turning back into his room, leaving the door open.

Charlotte was confused at first, but it quickly cleared once Jaeger turned back to the door where she was still standing.

"Are you coming in or not?" he asked blankly.

She hesitated slightly, but stepped past the threshold nonetheless. Her gaze wondered around the room, noticing how crisp and orderly it was. _Well he is a soldier after all,_ her gaze met the mattress on the floor. _Why is his mattress on the floor?_ she asked herself. Charlotte was snapped out of her inner thoughts by Jaeger's voice.

"Please, take a seat." he said while gesturing to the chair at the small desk.

Charlotte silently complied, pulling out the seat gently and sitting herself down. Jaeger took the opportunity to do the same, sitting down on the floor in front of Charlotte. Charlotte looked quizzically at him, wondering why he was sitting on the floor instead of the bed. The thought was quickly pushed out of her mind when Jaeger spoke once more.

"What do you want to talk about ma'am?"

Charlotte suddenly found herself unable to speak as he voiced the obvious. She didn't know why, but the mere presence of the SPARTAN made her feel rather reserved, hesitant. Forcing herself to overcome the hesitance, she answered honestly, but softly as well.

"Ichika told me what happened, in Orimura-sensei's office."

Jaeger fought back a groan, maintaining his 'SPARTAN mode'. He kept a neutral expression, but deep down, he was slightly irritated that the girl before him knew about his dilemma. His weakness.

It was unwise for SPARTANS to show weakness, it usually ended up being fatal.

 _But that's only when you're fighting on the battlefield Jaeger._

 _Not necessarily Athena. ODSTs back home always try to find a weakness. No thanks to John of course. The fool started it all back on the Atlas._

 _Well I don't know if you've noticed already, but there aren't any ODSTs around here._

 _That's true. But still..._

 _She's a civilian Jaeger, she's only trying to be comforting._

 _SPARTANS don't need comfort. We deal with problems on our own._

 _Stop being so stupid Jaeger! If you actually talked to someone about it, maybe you'd feel better, like you did earlier when I talked to you about it._

 _You're different._

 _How?_

…

 _You're..._

 _I'm what, Jaeger?_

 _...my friend._

…

 _Then make some more friends Jaeger, you're not exactly going anywhere anytime soon. Please._

…

 _You're right. I may not like it, but you're right. Fine, I'll play along. For now._

With his mind made up, Jaeger replied, despite how much he didn't want to.

"How much do you know?" he asked, trying to hide the emotion in his voice.

"Not much. Only that you were...upset over something called 'Reach'" she replied.

Despite trying to hide his emotion, Jaeger clenched his jaw tightly as she uttered what he hoped she wouldn't say.

 _Tell her Jaeger. Please._

He knew she wouldn't let up, and the girl before him only seemed curious. He sighed as he elaborated.

"Reach was a colony. I was born there, along with the rest of the SPARTANS. I just found out that it was...glassed. To top it off, all the SPARTANS stationed there were killed." he said, lowering his head.

Charlotte tried to fight back tears, but to no avail. The tears just kept on coming, even through her tightly closed eyes. She couldn't even imagine the psychological pain that the SPARTAN was feeling right now.

Jaeger snapped up at the sound of badly stifled sobbing. He saw the cascade of tears sliding down her face. He was confused, what was there to be sad about? She didn't know anyone from Reach, as far as he knew. _So why is she crying?_ he asked himself. Then it hit, in full force. This girl was crying _for_ him. For his loss, his pain. A strange feeling of arose within, giving him the unexplainable urge to stop her tears. Without thinking, he placed his hand on her own hands, clenching the material of her skirt.

Charlotte felt a warm feeling on her hand, it spread along her arm, and into the rest of her body. It was strangely...soothing. And familiar. She cracked open her eyes, which widened as she realised what the origin of the warm presence was. The armour-clad soldier had his hand placed above her own, and on his face was...a smile. A small smile, but a smile nonetheless. She wasn't expecting it at all. Her surprise was shattered when he spoke.

"Do not weep for me ma'am. I am trained to overcome pain. But...thank you." he said with a deep, soothing voice.

She wiped furiously at the tears with the sleeve of her free arm. Despite the sadness she felt for the soldier, she managed to form a warm smile.

"I'm sorry. I came here to comfort you and here you are comforting me instead."

"It's alright ma'am. I'm used to losing things that are important to me." he responded.

"But that's horrible! You're only human!" she exclaimed desperately.

Jaeger stiffened. The only other individual who called him 'human' was Athena, and yet this girl had called him 'human'. Not a 'killing machine', 'robot' or 'freak', but _human_. He could find no reason as to why this made him feel this way, he was used to people mocking him and singling him out, especially the ODSTs who went out of their way to try and insult him (often leading to a few soiled uniforms on their end).

"Are you alright Sev-san?" Charlotte asked, seeing how the SPARTAN froze at her words.

"Yes ma'am. It's just..." he sighed "No one has ever said that to me before. I was...surprised."

Charlotte could feel her temper flare. "What do you mean no one has ever said that before? Anyone can see that you're a normal person! A person that can feel emotions, just like everyone else!"

"SPARTANS are seen as many things. Civilians see us as heroes, Marines see us as war machines. And ODSTs see us as freaks. Not everyone views us as 'normal' humans, so we deal with it." he replied neutrally.

Charlotte frowned slightly. "Well, I think you're human. So does Ichika. Surely that counts for something, right?"

Jaeger couldn't fight the tug at the edges of his mouth, a small smile formed. He kept his eyes locked with the girl's dark purple eyes. From what he could see, she was doing the same, another warm smile forming on her own face. They kept their gazes, until Jaeger realised he still had his hand over hers. He retracted it swiftly, the fast movement causing his strange injury flaring up in pain once more. He subconsciously clutched the injury.

Charlotte found that she somehow missed the warm feeling of Sev's hand over her own. That was, until she saw him wince and clutch his side.

"Are you hurt Sev-san?" she asked worriedly.

"It's nothing don't worry about it." he replied, ignoring the growing pain.

"How could I not worry? C'mon, we're going to the medical wing." she declared.

"But-" Jaeger started.

"No buts. Now follow me." she said sternly as she rose from her seat.

Jaeger found himself unable to ignore her demand, so he lifted himself back onto his feet, still clutching his injury. The girl strode to the door, leaving it open as she stood expectantly for him to follow. He didn't hesitate, for reasons unknown, to comply. He joined the girl, closing the door behind him.

"Good. Let's go." she said shortly.

And with that, the two set off to the medical wing.

* * *

 _Chifuyu's office-_

"Poor Mr SPARTAN. I'll hope he'll be alright. But why did he look so sad?" Tabane inquired sympathetically.

Jorge sighed deeply. "Reach was our home. We were trained there, we grew up there. And our brothers and sisters are all dead."

"You don't seem to be affected by it that much." Chifuyu stated.

"That's because I've had time to grieve. I'm used to it. You can't change the past, but you can live to find a better future." Jorge responded.

"That's the spirit Jorgie!" Tabane exclaimed cheerfully.

"Please doctor, it's Jorge. Not Jorgie." Jorge said irritatedly.

"Aww don't get grumpy Jorgie!" she replied childishly.

"Tabane could we please return to the matter at hand?" Chifuyu interjected rhetorically.

"Meanie..." Tabane mumbled.

Ignoring Tabane's childish response, she pressed on.

"Since you haven't got a way to get our guest back, we're stuck with him for the time being. The question is, what do we do with him?"

"Hmm... Why don't you keep him here?"

"And what would he do?" Chifuyu asked, feeling slightly irritated.

"I don't know, what you do with him is up to you. I need time to come up with a solution, I'm sure you'll think of something in the mean time Chi-chan".

"That's not very helpful Tabane... and it's Chifuyu, not Chi-chan".

Tabane just giggled at Chifuyu's response. "Sorry Chi-chan, but I can't think of anything. I'll see you later!"

Before Chifuyu could stop her, Tabane sped out of the room, leaving Jorge and Chifuyu alone.

 _That woman..._ Chifuyu thought angrily.

"Don't worry about it too much Ma'am, Jaeger won't give you any trouble. Whatever happens, happens." Jorge said.

Chifuyu just sighed at his words.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I just have this feeling that something bad is about to happen."

And she was right.

 **AN: Hello everyone! Now I'm sure all of you are wondering what took me so long to update, and in answer to your lingering question, I had a lot on my mind with university applications.**

 **Anyway, enough with my excuses, you'll all be pleased to know that I'm back now, and updates will come out as fast as I can write new chapters. Speaking of which, hope you enjoyed this one, and that you'll stick around for the next. Make sure to review as well!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos, the rights belong to their respective owners.**

 _The Infirmary -_

Momoko Miyamoto had seen many injuries, ranging from a sprained ankle to a minor headache, from many students. But never in her entire career had she seen a single person so abnormally... big.

Jaeger and Charlotte stood before the school nurse. Jaeger could sense the brown-haired, green-eyed bespectacled woman before him looking at him with a sense of awe. _You'd think she'd never seen a SPARTAN before_ he thought sarcastically.

"Excuse me Miyamoto-sensei, but my friend here has an injury that needs treating. Do you think you could take a look at him?" Charlotte asked politely.

The nurse broke out of her reverie "Umm... Sure, no problem" she answered lamely, all the while keeping her gaze fixated on the armour-clad titan.

Charlotte gave a quick thank you and stepped inside, pulling Jaeger by his arm to follow. She was surprisingly met with little resistance, which was a rare occurrence,

 _What's the matter Jaeger? You going soft on me?_

 _Keep quiet Athena, she's just concerned about my health. It's natural for a soldier to seek medical attention when they need it._

 _But you were so reluctant earlier, why the change of heart?_

…

…

 _Jaeger?_

…

 _Jaeger, heeeellllloooooo?_

The SPARTAN in question just shook Athena from his inner thoughts, ignoring her last query. If he was being completely honest with himself, he didn't know. He didn't know the reason, it just felt... it felt like the right thing to do at the time. If his time as a SPARTAN told him anything, it was to always trust your instinct. _Just like you taught me Mendez_ he though offhandedly.

Charlotte led Jaeger to the closest bed and gestured for him to sit down. He was hesitant to comply.

 _No way is that flimsy bed going to hold my bodyweight_ he thought. Charlotte gestured once more.

"Come on, sit down." she said, attempting to express it authoritatively.

"I'm afraid I can't do that ma'am. That bed won't support my weight, I was sure you would of noticed already." he replied.

Charlotte frowned "Noticed how exactly? I don't know how heavy you are."

"My bed. In my sleeping quarters, it was on the floor remember? I put it there so the bed wouldn't collapse." he answered.

Charlotte pondered his response, thinking back to when she went into his room. She quickly remembered. _So that's why it was on the floor..._ she thought absently.

Someone cleared their throat, garnering the attention of the pair. They turned to see Miyamoto-sensei, who looked somewhat annoyed.

"Are you two quite done? If so, then I need to take a look at your... big... friend's injury Miss Dunois."

Charlotte gave a small nod "Sorry Miyamoto-sensei."

"Good." she replied. She turned to Jaeger "If you can't sit down on the bed, please kneel down so I can get a good look at you."

Jaeger complied, kneeling down and facing the nurse.

"Okay, now could you tell where the injury is?" she inquired.

He nodded, pointing to the lower left of his ribs "Right here ma'am."

Miyamoto-sensei placed her hand to where he had motioned. "I'm going to apply some pressure now, and I want you to describe the sort of pain that you feel"

Jaeger only nodded, and she proceeded to press down onto his injury. He let out a small grunt when a small measure of pain burst through his side. Even if he was trained to ignore it like every other SPARTAN, pain was still pain. And it _hurt_ s.

It went as soon as it came as the nurse relinquished her hand. "Hmm... Yes... It's either a bruised or fractured rib, I can't be too sure without seeing the wound. Could you take off your armour?"

Jaeger shook his head "I'm afraid not ma'am, it's impossible. I'd need an armour assembly unit." he replied.

"Well I can't treat you with your armour on."

"Then I'll just have to bear with it for now" he said as he stood up and started to make is way to the door.

"Hey! You can't leave! You're still injured!" the nurse called out.

But the nurse's comment went unanswered as Jaeger reached the door. He pulled it open and was about to step through, but he was stopped when something collided with him. His neck almost snapped when he jerked his head over his shoulder, only to see Charlotte clinging to him with a surprising amount of strength.

"Please Sev-san, your health is important." she pleaded.

"If I can't be treated then there's no reason for me to remain here." he responded logically.

"But if you keep on moving around then you'll just injure yourself even more!" she countered.

Jaeger's superhuman mind processed her argument. It was logically sound, staying in continuous motion would only worsen his injury.

 _Stop being stubborn Jaeger, you know as well as I that she's right. Remember your training. "An injured soldier is an inefficient soldier when facing the enemy"._

 _You don't need to remind me Athena._

 _Clearly I do, so you're dead set on leaving._

…

 _You know I'm right. Now stop trying to be tough and get back in there!_

Jaeger reluctantly accepted his situation. He realised he still hadn't responded to Charlotte, who was looking at him expectantly.

"As you wish ma'am."

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief, she could barely keep him from leaving. It took all of her strength just to stagger him. Moments pass and a sudden realisation hit her. She was still clinging on to Jaeger. She let out a yelp as she stepped back with a speed that could of rivalled Kelly-087.

Jaeger was confused by Charlotte's sudden outburst. Did he do something wrong? He noticed the girl's face was tinged red.

"Excuse me ma'am, but are you alright? Your face is red, perhaps you have a fever?"

Charlotte waved her hands frantically in front of her, the colour of her face turning an even deeper colour of red. "N-n-no, I-I'm fine! It's n-nothing!"

Jaeger ignored her protests. "Miss Miyamoto, I believe it would be logical to diagnose Miss Dunois."

Miyamoto-sensei smiled inwardly. _Poor guy, can't see what's standing right in front of him. He's just as bad as Orimura_ she thought to herself. Nevertheless, she decided to have a little fun. It was always entertaining to tease.

"I don't think that will be necessary. I already know what's wrong with Miss Dunois." she replied, excitedly waiting for the inevitable.

"I see. So what kind of sickness is she suffering from" he inquired.

"It would appear that Miss Dunois is lo-"

The nurse's sly remark was cut off when Charlotte's hand clamped down on her mouth.

"D-don't worry Sev-san, I'm p-perfectly f-fine. Miyamoto-sensei's wrong." she said shakily.

Jaeger would of pressed onward, but a loud ringing noise stopped him.

"A-ah, look at that, it's time for class! I'll see you later Sev-san!" Charlotte exclaimed as she rushed out of the infirmary.

 _What was that all about?_ Jaeger asked himself. He turned to face Miyamoto-sensei, who was wearing a sly smile. This only caused him even more confusion.

"Ma'am what were you going to say?" he asked.

"Fu-fu, don't worry it's nothing. I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."

Jaeger found himself forming a small frown.

 _This place is more confusing than half of what 1337 rambles on about, and that's saying something._

* * *

 _Hmm... I wonder where Char is..._

Ichika sat at his desk, glancing around the classroom. Everyone was present, except Charlotte. The last time he saw her was when he told her about Jaeger. Thinking back to it, he was surprised to see Charlotte's eagerness to comfort the new arrival, someone she had just met. _Then again, she's always like that, kind and caring to others_ he thought offhandedly. He tuned himself back to the present, with the usual back-chatter from the rest of the class.

The door to the classroom slid open a little forcefully, causing the chatter to cease instantaneously. Ichika, along with everyone else, were surprised to see Charlotte standing in the doorway, her hands on her knees and panting slightly. The small silence that arose vanished as Chifuyu spoke.

"Miss Dunois, you're late. Where have you been?" she asked sternly.

"I...was...in...the...infirmary." she answered, out of breath.

"And why were you in the infirmary? Last time I checked only injured people go to the infirmary."

By this time Charlotte had recomposed herself. "I took Sev-san, he was hurt." she explained.

"I see. Very well, take your seat, class is about to begin."

Charlotte obeyed, and took her seat. Ichika gave a small wave, which she returned. Their silent greeting was cut short when Chifuyu hit Ichika with her clipboard.

"Orimura, pay attention! Class is about to begin!"

"Yes ma'am!" he exclaimed fearfully.

Chifuyu went on with the lesson, going over the basics of what the class learned last semester and what they'll be learning this year. Ichika was finding it hard to concentrate as his mind drifted back to what Charlotte said when she arrived.

 _I hope Jaeger is doing alright._

* * *

Jaeger was most definitely not alright.

 _This is ridiculous._

 _What's wrong Jaeger?_

 _I don't know. I feel...impatient, like I could be doing something more useful right now._

…

 _That's boredom you idiot._

Jaeger would of rebuked her, but the sound of curtains being drawn garnered his immediate attention.

"Hello again...Sev-san... how are you feeling?"

Jaeger had to look up at his addresser, Miyamoto-sensei, as he was lying down on the floor (on a mattress of course). Why? Because after numerous broken beds, Miyamoto-sensei finally relented, the medical budget was small enough.

"I'm fine ma'am" he answered. _For the tenth time_ he thought internally.

"That's good. Hopefully your ribs will heal themselves over time, so maybe we won't have to treat it at all"

"And how long will that take ma'am?"

"I don't know how long exactly, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say... 6 months?"

He would of cursed. But being SPARTAN, he knew better than loosing his temper over a simple injury. So instead he gave a small nod.

"Well, I'll leave you to your own devices for now, but I'll be back later to check up on you."

"Of course ma'am." he said. _Looking forward to it_ he thought drily.

* * *

"C'mon Ichika, we'll be late!"

"Hold on Houki, I'm coming already." Ichika replied "No need to yell" he mumbled quietly.

"What was that?" Houki asked with a threatening tone, a seemingly demonic aura emanating off her.

Ichika flinched at her words "N-nothing, nothing at all" he said fearfully.

"Good, then let's go." she replied.

Ichika didn't hesitate to follow, and the two soon reached their destination. The school auditorium. He and everyone else in class were confused as to why Chifuyu told them to head straight to the auditorium as the class ended.

Shaking away the small recollection, Ichika and Houki entered the auditorium, glancing around for the others. It didn't take long for the pair to notice Rin waving at the two of them. The duo made their way to the group, weaving through the other students who were busy finding their own seats. The two of them finally reached their friends, filing themselves down the aisle and into the two vacant seats.

"What took you guys so long?" Rin asked.

"Eh, well..." Ichika started, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

When the lights began to dim however, he stopped himself from continuing.

"Later." he whispered.

A blue haired girl made her way to the centre of the stage in front of the now seated student body, stopping at the distinctive podium.

"Hello everyone, my name is Tatenashi Sarashiki. I your student council president! And I have called you all here for something that requires your immediate attention" the girl announces.

Everyone in the auditorium was curious as to what the student council president called them here, except Ichika of course. He was more curious as to _who_ the girl was. _We have a student council? And she's the president? Why didn't someone tell me about this?_ Ichika questioned himself. They went unanswered as girl continued.

"By now all of you are probably wondering what is so important that requires your presence here. Well, the answer is simple. It's time for all of you to make a choice on all of the activities for the school festival!" she finished exuberantly.

The audience applauded Tatenashi as she finished her small announcement. A myriad of ideas were formulated in each of the student's minds, but all of them held one single thing in common. Ichika Orimura.

Ichika felt a chill pass up his spine, unsuspecting of the anarchistic plans the other students had in store for him.

* * *

"How about Orimura at a kissing booth?"

"No! Seven minutes in heaven would be even better!"

"I refuse to do any and all of the suggestions that involve me doing anything like... that!"

Ichika, Houki, Cecilia, Charlotte, Laura and the rest of their classmates were back in their classroom, sharing ideas their ideas for the school festival. By this point Ichika was practically fuming, from both anger and embarrassment. Mainly embarrassment.

"What about a maid café?" Laura suggested.

The girls wasted no time in deliberating amongst themselves, while Ichika just sat there, his mind at its limit. The discussion finished as the time flew by, and Ichika found himself under the expectant gaze of his classmates. With great reluctance, he accepted the proposal. He had to cover his ears the girls cheered with joy. Wanting to prevent his eardrums from bleeding, he slipped out of the horde of girls and into the relatively quiet hallway. He let out a sigh of relief as his hearing recovered. But it was not to last. A pair of light footsteps caught his attention, and he turned his gaze to the source, being met with a someone he hadn't expected to see.

Tatenashi Sarashiki was standing before Ichika her hands on her hips, but wearing a friendly expression.

"Well well well, if it isn't Ichika Orimura himself. Nice to meet you." she said cheerfully.

"Sarashiki-san? What are you doing here?" he asked.

She smiled at his query. "I'm glad you asked. Well Orimura, you'll be glad to know that I am offering you a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

Ichika looked at her quizzically. "What kind of offer?"

"From today onwards, I will be your personal IS coach!" she exclaimed.

Ichika kept his quizzical expression. "But I already have enough coaches."

"That maybe, but you are still weak." she replied bluntly.

He felt a bit irritated by what she said. "I'm not that weak." he responded seriously.

"No, you are blind to the truth. You are _very_ weak. If you don't believe me, then how about a little wager?"

"What do you propose?"

"A duel, hand-to-hand only. If you win, I'll apologize and leave you be."

Ichika smirked confidently. "Fine. And if you win, I'll do whatever you want"

Tatenashi's smile grew even wider.

"Then follow me."

* * *

 _At the training grounds -_

Tatenashi and Ichika stood face to face, separated by a two metre gap.

"Alright Orimura, I hope your ready." she challenged.

Ichika went into a combative stance. "I'm always ready" he replied.

"Here's what's gonna happen Orimura. If you manage to knock me to the ground just once, then you win." she stated, going into her own battle stance.

He gave a small nod as a gesture of acceptance and without a second thought, charged at Tatenashi with his fist ready to strike. Tatenashi stood her ground, waiting for the opportune moment to reveal itself. Ichika was within reach and thrust his fist toward her. What followed shocked him greatly. One second his fist was about to strike her, and the next she dodged ever so slightly to the side, grappling his arm and forcefully flipping him over her shoulder and onto the hard dirt.

As if to hide his shock, he tried once more, but this time she blocked his punch and sent it veering off, leaving him completely defenceless. She showed no mercy as she sent her palm into his exposed chest, forcing him off balance and onto his back again.

Ichika was beginning to get frustrated at this point, here he was giving it his all, and this girl had the nerve to just stand there, smiling at him as if to mock his efforts. _If I can beat the silver gospel, then I can definitely beat this girl!_ Ichika thought to himself re-assuredly. He stood back up once more, with a determined expression. He began to charge at her, this time with all of his might. _I can't lose, I won't lose!_ He thought as he went in for what he hoped, the ending blow. But even with everything he had, it still wasn't enough. Tatenashi countered him again, using his momentum against, grasping his outstretched arm, putting her foot out slightly and pulling him over it. His momentum, and the girl's foot caused him to fall face first to the ground.

"Ow! Damn it!" Ichika cursed to himself. He lifted himself up, each muscle and bone aching from the beating he took, turning to face Tatenashi, who was still smiling mockingly at him, which irked him even more.

"You didn't really believe you could win did you? I'm the student council president. And there's only one way to reach that position. By being the strongest. I am the strongest student of this academy, your chances were low to begin with" she explained, with a slightly condescending tone.

"Oh yeah?" Ichika challenged "We'll see about that!"

Without a chance to react, Ichika caught Tatenashi off guard, charging forward ready to grapple her and give her a taste of her own medicine. But Ichika being Ichika, he missed his target by a long shot. A _very_ long shot.

Instead his hand clutched the fabric of her shirt, and unfortunately for Tatenashi, Ichika staggered over a small rock. Taking her shirt with him.

Silence ensued the pair, as Ichika's gaze switched between the ripped shirt in his hand and her...

 _LACY BRA?!_ Ichika exclaimed to himself.

Of course it didn't take long for Tatenashi to fully comprehend just what happened. And Ichika found himself quickly found himself drifting into unconsciousness as her fist made _painful_ contact with his face. Ichika found himself thinking one thought that always pestered him.

 _Why me?_

* * *

Laura was wondering around the countless hallways of the academy, searching for her objective. Ichika. Ever since class, no one had seen him. He just disappeared. Now she, along with Houki, Cecilia and Charlotte, took it upon themselves to find their friend, with the ulterior motive of spending time alone with him of course. So far however, none of them had found any sign of Ichika, and it was beginning to eat away at Laura. _What if something happened to him? Is he avoiding me?_ She asked herself.

The thought of Ichika actively avoiding her saddened her greatly, she couldn't remember what she did wrong, or if she had done anything to offend him in the first place. The fruitless recollection was stopped abruptly when she walked past a pair of girls.

"Ohhhhh... I hate having bed hair in the morning!" one moaned.

"Yeah, it takes so long to brush out the knots." the other girl added.

The snippet of conversation was enough to cause Laura to cease her wondering. She looked out a nearby window to see an almost translucent reflection of herself. She fiddled with the end of her hair, contemplating what the girls had said. _Is he avoiding me because of the way I look?_ Laura asked herself worriedly.

"My my, it seems you've reached that age Laura" a familiar voice called out.

Laura gasped and snapped around to see Chifuyu standing there with one hand on her hip and a small smile on her face.

"I-Instructor!" she said frantically.

"No need to explain Laura. I assume your looking for Ichika right?"

Laura only gave a small nod, not trusting her voice to explain.

"Well that last time I saw him was in the Infirmary. Why don't you check there?" Chifuyu informed her rhetorically.

The small super soldier didn't hesitate to rush off in the direction of the infirmary.

"Some things never change." Chifuyu said to no one in particular.

* * *

" _Mama! Mama!" a little boy cried._

 _The black haired woman turned to the child's pain-filled cries. The boy was running toward her, clutching his elbow with tears pouring from his eyes. He eventually reached the woman and looked into her warm, worry-looking eyes._

" _What's wrong Jaeger?" she asked with a motherly tone._

 _The boy only held up his elbow, showing a small bleeding wound. "I fell over mama! It hurts so much!" he wailed hysterically._

 _The woman smiled warmly as she gently held his arm, leaning down and kissing the boy on his head._

" _Don't worry dear, mama will make the pain go away. Come on, let's go inside and clean you up." she said comfortingly._

 _The boy lightly sniffled and nodded his head, holding the woman's hand as she lead him back inside the cosy little home..._

" _I will destroy the target!"_

Jaeger awoke with a jolt, forcefully pushing the strange dream from his mind, going into SPARTAN mode. He reached for the closest makeshift weapon, and dove straight toward the unknown threat.

Laura was about to unleash her fury upon Tatenashi, when a sudden force elevated her off her feet and onto her back. It all happened so fast that she didn't have time to react when a small scalpel was held against her throat. She moved her gaze ever so slowly to see her attacker. It was Jaeger.

The infirmary was filled with a deadly silence, the occupants staring at the perpetrator of the escalated turn of events. What seemed like an eternity had passed until Jaeger had finally realised the situation. He looked at the others to see them staring at him, each with their own shocked, and to a certain degree, fearful expressions. He glanced down to see the silver haired girl in his death grip, and immediately released her. Laura subconsciously rubbed a hand against her throat where the lethal weapon had been held against. She snapped out of it when a deep and slightly distorted voice spoke.

"My apologies ma'am. I thought you were a threat."

Laura nodded. "I-it's fine. I am unharmed."

"You must be our new guest, right?" Tatenashi asked, now recollected.

Jaeger nodded. "Affirmative, SPARTAN-777" he said shortly.

"Fu-fu-fu, well I can already see having you around will make things interesting. Let me know if you need anything." she offered.

"Actually ma'am, there is."

"And what would that be?" she inquired.

There was a short pause before Jaeger spoke. "What was that all about?" he asked

"What was what?" then she realised. "Oh! Miss Bodewig here just got a little jealous is all. It appears she doesn't take to kindly to other girls being nice to Ichika." she explained, glancing at Laura and back to the now awake Ichika in her lap.

"I see. Well if that is all, then please try to control yourselves. I must recuperate."

"Oh don't worry about us Mr SPARTAN, we'll behave." she replied with a mischievous undertone.

With that said, Jaeger went back to his bed, trying to get back to sleep. He couldn't do anything else anyway.

Time seemed to fly by as Jaeger went into a dreamless sleep, Laura, Tatenashi and Ichika no longer present in the infirmary. He awoke groggily to a gentle force in his side. He turned his gaze to the source, Miyamoto-sensei.

"Good evening sleepyhead." she said with a smile.

"Evening?" he inquired openly.

"That's right, you've been asleep for quite some time now. But enough about that, what's more important is your current health. How do you feel right now? Is there anything wrong?"

Jaeger was about to give his common answer of "I'm fine", but something was indeed wrong. And it was bothering him to no end.

"Yes, there is something wrong." he stated truthfully.

"Really? And what's wrong, any flares of pain?" she questioned.

Jaeger shook his head. "No ma'am, it's nothing like that. It's more of a...psychological affliction."

"And that would be?" she pressed on.

He hesitated, but decided it was for the best. Maybe it was treatable. "Ever since my arrival here I've been...seeing things." he said vaguely.

"Please, elaborate." she asked professionally.

"I've been having dreams, at least I think they're dreams. In these dreams there is always one constant. A young boy. So far I've seen him playing in a crop field, being called for dinner by a woman and again when he sustained an injury and the woman said she would treat it."

Miyamoto-sensei was taking down notes as Jaeger was speaking. She adjusted her red-rimmed glasses with her free hand. "Could you describe this boy? And the woman as well? Give me every detail."

He nodded. "The boy had short, black hair. Blue eyes, with an average build. About 4 or 5 years old. The woman had black hair too. Long and wavy, reaching just below her shoulders. Average build. In her twenties. And..." he described, hesitated at the end.

"And?" she inquired.

She could only hear Jaeger mumble.

"Sorry, could you repeat that? A little louder this time."

"...a notable chest size" he finished.

Momoko would of laughed at Jaeger's embarrassment, had the situation not been serious.

"Okay, so you have had dreams of a young boy and a woman in her twenties. Was there anything else?"

"Yes. A man. Same age range as the woman, grey eyes, brown hair. Muscular build. Above average height."

Miyamoto-sensei could see where this was going. What Jaeger had described was irrefutable, but his inability to realise the obvious troubled her. Deciding to be discreet, she explained.

"Well from what you've told me, the dreams seem to be about a small family. The boy is the son of the woman and the man you described, the boy's appearance proves so."

"But why am I dreaming of people I've never met?" It's true, Jaeger had never seen or heard their voices before in his life.

The nurse sighed. _Guess there's no alternative._ "This family you dream about Sev-san is yours. The woman and the man are your mother and father."

Jaeger froze. He didn't believe it. He _couldn't_ believe it. "That's impossible. I was orphaned during infancy. That boy can't be me."

Momoko frowned at his reaction. She was surprised to see him so disbelieving, most people would be elated. _I need to get to the bottom of this_ she declared to herself. "Sev-san. Did something happen to you when you were around that age?"

Jaeger replied automatically "That's classified."

"But-"

"Sorry ma'am. But information about my past is classified." he repeated.

She let out a long sigh "Very well then. I'll be back soon with some food, you must be hungry."

Jaeger just gave a curt nod. With that done, Momoko left the infirmary, closing the door behind her. She began the long walk to Chifuyu's office, set on informing her what she had learned. As she was walking through the long corridors, one thing still bothered her.

 _If he can't remember his own parents, did someone modify his memory? Just what happened to him?_

 **And it's done! Don't worry, this chapter may not have had much action, but I guarantee the next one will! So sit tight, Chapter 12 is on it's way! Make sure to review too!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I do not own Halo or Infinite Stratos, the rights belong to their respective owners.**

Chifuyu was sitting at her desk, arranging a multitude of reports, ranging from class activities to future tournaments. Even though she was doing so, she wasn't fully focused on her work. What possessed the majority of her mind was the academy's recent arrival, and the subsequent event that occurred in her office not too long ago. Despite her calm and collected personality, she couldn't help but be a little surprised at the super soldier's familiarity with Tabane's assistant. Which raised another question. How did they get here? Sure they explained, albeit quite vaguely, that they were transported here because of a slipspace anomaly. But the physics behind it was something out of science fiction, but then again, so was the IS. But even then, the IS wasn't quite as far fetched as an alternate reality. Needless to say, even though she had said otherwise, she still didn't believe the SPARTAN'S story. The images that he provided could have been an elaborate forgery to lower suspicion. She would be keeping a close eye on the super soldier from now on. Caution couldn't be thrown out of the window so casually after all.

Whilst she was deep in her thoughts, she failed to notice the loud knocking at her door. However, the astute woman did eventually notice that someone was waiting for a reply, which she promptly gave. Once she did, she raised her eyebrow slightly. She wasn't expecting to see the school nurse here of all people.

"Miss Miyamoto? It's a surprise to see you here. Is there something you need?"

The good doctor nodded at the instructor's inquiry. "Yes, it is a matter that I believe you'd be interested with."

"Go ahead doctor, what is it?" the ever-stoic woman pressed.

"About twenty minutes ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see Miss Dunois in the infirmary asking for my assistance. She was accompanied with our recent guest, and she requested that I perform a diagnosis. He has a possible cracked or broken rib, but I couldn't be sure since I wasn't able to get a look beyond his...armour? Anyway, that's all inconsequential compared to what he told me when I went to check up on him."

That caught Chifuyu's attention. "In what way doctor?"

"Well, he told me he was having dreams about a small family of three, a woman, a man, and a young boy. His description of the mother and father lead to the conclusion that he himself was the boy in the family, while the man and the woman were his parents. That would all be fine had he not gone on to say that he was orphaned during infancy. It doesn't add up at all. Which means that something must of happened to him, something that made him lose his memory."

The nurse's explanation was disturbing to say the least. Chifuyu could tell it wasn't a simple case of amnesia. It was too easy to label it as such. No, this was something more. It only served to solidify Chifuyu's decision to keep an eye on the super soldier, he wasn't the most inconspicuous of individuals. That aside, Chifuyu was curious herself, just what was the cause if it wasn't amnesia? The only logical explanation would be drugs. She knew that the idea was ludicrous though, drugs that can alter the mind? Medicine wasn't at that level yet. At least it was here anyway. Chifuyu would have to guess that it may be possible in the young man's own reality. But one thing still bugged her. Why? Why would such a drug be administered?

Noting how both she and Miyamoto hadn't said anything after the woman's chilling regalement of recent events, Chifuyu voiced her own opinion on the matter.

"I see doctor, thank you for telling me. I believe it would be prudent to proceed with caution. It may be possible that your 'patient' is unstable. Make sure you give me updates on his condition, tell me if he experiences more of these flashes. That aside, what would you suggest we do about it? If what you're saying is true, something sinister as at work here."

Momoko had to agree with her there. "My thoughts exactly. Although I believe that he is anything but unstable. In fact his body language suggested that he was and still is quite normal. Despite the obvious of course. As for what we do with him, I know a psychological expert who could get to the root of the problem. Her abilities in regards to the human mind are greater than mine, so maybe she could give us a clue on the problem."

"Understood Miyamoto, you are the medical expert after all. But just be careful, you should know just how dangerous he is."

"I will Miss Orimura. I should get going now, don't want to keep you from your work after all." she finished with a cheeky smile.

The stern woman frowned slightly at the reminder, letting out a sigh. "Very well Momoko"

The nurse left the office soon after, leaving a work laden woman at her desk. But work wasn't all that was on her mind. A more pressing matter than the new arrival had to be addressed. The IS stolen from the heavily guarded facility still hadn't been located, and Chifuyu had an idea as to who the culprit was. She just hoped she was wrong.

* * *

Jaeger was glad for the brief rest that he had the grace of being presented. Not many soldiers get much of break during war time, always on the move and ready to deploy to the battlefield. Even though he was a SPARTAN, he was grateful for the break. He couldn't remember the last time he had done anything other than fight. So when his peace was shattered so easily, he was not too pleased.

 _Athena?_

 _Yes Jaeger?_

 _Could you verify something for me?_

 _Of course Jaeger, that's what I'm here for._

…

…

 _What the hell is that infernal racket?_

 _Well... If I had to guess, I'd say that the noise is originating from classroom 1-1 about 300m away on the 2nd floor._

 _I see. In that case, would it be possible for you to tell them to be quiet? I'm trying to recuperate here._

 _That would be hard to do since I'm stuck inside your head._

 _Can't you hack the comm system?_

 _I could. But I won't_

 _Why not?_

 _Because they seem to be enjoying themselves and I don't want to get in the way because some grouchy guy couldn't get used to it. You're a SPARTAN aren't you?_

 _That may be Athena. But you have to remember I have super hearing, so it's quite painful to hear all that noise._

 _If it's such a problem, get off your lazy butt and tell them to quiet down._

 _I thought you said I shouldn't be moving around?_

…

…

 _I'll make an exception for today. Now if you're going to go, go._

Shaking Athena's heated comment from his head, he heaved himself of the surprisingly comfortable mattress on the floor, heading out the door. He felt a strange sensation of satisfaction at Athena's discomfort, the damn AI had done the same to him in countless situations so it only seemed fair to return the favour. Jaeger knew that such petty feelings were unnecessary, but he found that he didn't care. This was somewhat worrying for him. SPARTANS weren't supposed to feel anything, they were trained to fight, kill and die. He knew from this point onwards he had to keep focused, controlled. He couldn't afford to be anything other than a soldier, the UNSC still needed him when he got back.

Jaeger had been walking down the long corridors of the academy for a few minutes by now, yet he still had no idea where he was. He wanted to ask Athena, but soon realised that the AI was in some sort of mood with him, so her information could possibly be questionable. The super soldier didn't want to get any more lost than he already was. There was too much shrieking to actually pinpoint its location accurately. All he could really do was wander around the second floor of the first year classroom building. He hoped that some of John's ridiculous amount of luck rubbed off on him. He could use a little luck right now.

As if on cue, the annoyingly familiar sound of screaming reached the SPARTAN'S sensitive ears. He knew exactly where classroom 1-1 was now. He picked up his pace, taking long, thudding strides to his objective, fully intent on eliminating the source of the racket. But when he actually reached the entrance of the classroom his steps began to diminish as he noticed a long line of the academy students waiting outside the door. It was intriguing to say the least. Ignoring the line of girls, he opened the door to the classroom, intent of shutting up the perpetrator of the noise long forgotten. He was even more intrigued at what he saw.

The classroom was decorated in a manner that could be described as sophisticated. Numerous round wooden tables were spread throughout the room, accompanied by four fancy looking wooden chairs. Most of which were currently occupied. The superhuman glanced around, most of the girls were talking amongst themselves, completely oblivious to his presence. That didn't last long though, because as soon as the first person noticed him, the chatter began to die down around the room. This wouldn't of bothered him much if he weren't the origin of the lack of noise. It was starting to feel a little uncomfortable as the silence dragged on; but luckily for Jaeger, the only other male on the academy grounds addressed him, ignorant at the lack of chattering voices.

"Hey there Sev, how can I help you?"

The SPARTAN in question was searching for a way to formulate a response, he still had no idea what was going on. He soon voiced his confusion to the dense boy.

"What's going on here?"

Ichika looked at him quizzically. "Huh? It's a cafe, what else does it look like? Anyway, what can I get you?"

"Get me? Am I correct in assuming that this place is where you get food?"

"Of course it is! That's what a cafe is for after all. Here's a menu for you, just decide on what you'd like at let me know. I'll lead you to your table."

With little chance to deny the offer, Jaeger took the menu proceeded to follow the young man to the nearest vacant table, the chatter from before returning. For which he was secretly grateful, he disliked being the centre of attention. He suddenly realised that the wooden chairs, like his own bed, would be unable to support his weight.

"Wait Ichika, would it be possible for me to sit in a booth instead of a chair?"

Ichika stopped in his tracks, turning to face the SPARTAN, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, they're kinda for bigger groups of customers."

"I understand, but those chairs won't be able to support my weight at all."

"What do you mean? You can't be that heavy right?"

Jaeger would of looked at him incredulously had he not been a master of control. "I weigh half a tonne, that's 1000lbs of mass. I doubt a wooden chair could withstand that."

"Ah. Well in that case I'll make an exception."

Now understanding the problem, the IS pilot lead the super soldier to an empty booth. Jaeger carefully lowered himself down onto the seated area, relieved that it hadn't entirely broken under his weight. He didn't want to repair anything after having to repair the damage he made during his initial arrival.

The impromptu butler spoke up once Jaeger took his seat. "Now once you've decided on what you want, just wait for a little while. Someone will get to you once they've got the chance."

Jaeger nodded in response "Understood."

With Ichika's instructions, Jaeger opened the gifted menu and began browsing. He wasn't exactly picky when it came to food. As a soldier he should be grateful for what he gets. Yet another lesson drilled into his head from his former commanding officer. One thing did catch his eye as he was browsing the menu though, it was something called 'treat your butler'. He had no idea what it was, but from the name, it probably had something to do with the individual who provided you service. Concluding that it was a pointless option, he kept searching, eventually deciding on the cake special. Whatever cake was.

The SPARTAN, with his choice made, took the opportunity to continue his analysis of the room itself. Ichika had gone off to the door where he was conversing with the girl he knew as Rin. The girl was dressed in an extravagant manner. She was wearing a dress of sorts, the likes of which Jaeger himself had never seen before. It's design however, was evidently inspired by Chinese fashion. He only knew this because he and the other SPARTANS had to learn about the entirety of mankind's cultures, with China being one of the cultures learnt. The other staff members were dressed in a frilly black and white uniform. One of which were heading towards him.

"Guten Tag, may I take your order?"

Jaeger noticed how the one who addressed him was someone he was acquainted with. It was Laura, who shared the same uniform as everyone else, save the eyepatch. That last attribute was curious. He then realised how the girl had spoken to him in German, and since she had done as such, it only seemed logical he did the same.

"Ja Fraulein, kann ich den Kuchen besondere haben?"

Laura, who had spotted the super soldier all by his lonesome, took the initiative to take his order. She had not expected him to speak her own language so fluently. It was rather surprising to the young German.

"Du kannst Deutsch?"

The SPARTAN found it prudent to explain himself. Naturally, he wouldn't divulge just how he had learnt the language. That was classified.

"Ja, ich bin fließend in vielen Sprachen. Französisch, Spanisch, Ungarisch, Japanisch und Englisch ein paar zu nennen"

Laura was enthralled by how well he had spoken. The accent wasn't too bad either. Realising that she had been staring at him with wide eyes, she shook her head with a light blush. Jaeger, possessing a sharp eye, noticed how she shook her head, calling her out on her strange behaviour.

"Is there something wrong miss?"

"N-nein, it's just... you surprised me that's all."

"How so?"

"You speak German so fluently, and your accent isn't forced. It's almost natural."

"It was a requirement. All SPARTANS had to learn the dominant human languages."

Realising how she had been going on a tangent, Laura steered the conversation back. "Anyway, back to your order. A cake special?"

"Affirmative. Thank you ma'am"

Laura offered a rare smile "No problem. Your order will be along shortly."

With Jaeger's order, the German girl walked off, leaving Jaeger who had opted to continue his observation of the classroom. He noticed how Ichika was still talking to Rin, who was now seated at a nearby table. Both were sitting down with a peculiar dish. Were he not a SPARTAN, he would know that said dish was pocky sticks. He was confused when Rin had started to feed the boy. To the super soldier, it possessed no purpose. It would be far more efficient to feed oneself. Wanting an answer, he turned to his AI.

 _Athena?_

…

 _Athena?_

…

…

 _Athena!_

 _Huh? Sorry, were you saying something Jaeger?_

 _Yes, I was. Could you explain to me why that girl is feeding that boy over there? It serves no purpose. He is not physically injured, so he would be fully capable of eating himself. So why is she doing it?_

 _Oh Jaeger, you poor, poor thing._

 _What?_

 _Since it's my duty, and I'm the almighty, benevolent, beautiful, charm-_

 _Athena. Stop glorifying yourself and get to it already._

 _Geez, you never let me have any fun. Anyway, it's painfully obvious that the girl is displaying affection. Many couples perform such acts all the time._

 _Couples? By that I assume you mean 'mates'?_

 _Oh honestly Jaeger, they're not animals. It's too complicated for me to explain to you, even though I am super smart. It's something you have to figure out yourself. I'm quite envious of you really, you get the chance to love, to feel real emotions._

…

…

 _You **can** feel emotions Athena. Emotions are just biological reactions in the human body, nothing more. As a smart AI, you can experience the same feelings. But in your case its induced mechanically, not biologically._

 _..._

 _Thank you Jaeger, it's nice to hear that from you. Actually, I think that's the first time you've tried your hand at comfort. Just when did- oh wait it was then wasn't it? With the blonde girl! Well well, looks like all my hard work is paying off. You're finally getting a grasp on living your life._

Jaeger didn't want to dignify Athena with an answer. It would of meant that she was right. Ignoring Athena's response, he returned his attention back to Ichika and Rin. The super soldier almost let out a laugh as he saw Rin punch Ichika in the face. The girl seemed to be angry over something he had said. Jaeger's amusement was cut short when a woman approached the dazed boy.

The woman was dressed in a professional uniform, something that business employees would wear. To others, she would appear quite normal. But not to the SPARTAN. He had never seen the woman before, and she was entirely out of place. Jaeger hadn't noticed any other people besides students on the academy grounds. She was suspicious. He decided then that he would confer with Athena, he needed to know more about this woman.

 _Athena, scan all records of the current population worldwide._

 _Er... Okay..._

…

 _Alright, I got the list._

 _Search for a profile on that woman over there, the one with auburn hair._

 _Understood._

…

…

…

 _No matches found. That woman doesn't exist._

 _I see..._

Jaeger knew that this woman was definitely up to something. If no records existed, then she was currently operating under an alias. For what organisation he didn't know, but all the same, he decided to keep watch on her. It was a high possibility that she was a threat. And despite being in a different reality, his directive remained the same. Defend humanity from all threats.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice Laura approach him with his order. So he was a little startled and frustrated with himself that he didn't notice her. He had to be vigilant at all times.

"Here's your order, please enjoy."

"Thank you ma'am"

"Not at all." the girl replied with a barely noticeable smile.

The German girl returned to her duties as Jaeger eyed his order that sat in front of him. He picked up the provided fork and prodded the cake lightly, which crumbled slightly as it made contact. The cake itself was covered in some sort of white paste on the top and at its centre. The SPARTAN had never seen such a food before. Shrugging to himself, he removed his helmet and set it aside, curious about how the cake would taste.

He took a forkful and placed the crumbly treat in his mouth. Jaeger couldn't stop his eyes from widening, despite his incredible ability at controlling himself. _What on earth is this? It's...really good. I can't even label how good this is._

 _The word you're looking for would be 'delicious' Jaeger._

…

…

 _Don't even bother Jaeger. I can hear whatever you can think. I'm literally connected to your body. You can't hide your shock from me~_

…

 _Shut it Athena._

 _Ooh hoo, looks like someone's embarrassed~_

The SPARTAN could only grumble incoherently at the AI's teasing words. The young man went on to devour the cake like a starving castaway, ignoring Athena's goading comments. He wouldn't allow Athena or anyone else know about his new-found favourite food. Even if the former was inside his head. He'd find a way, he was a SPARTAN after all.

It only took him a single minute to finish off the tasty treat, which allowed him to return his attention to a more pressing matter. He still hadn't figured out how to approach the situation with the disguised woman. An image of Chifuyu flashed through his mind. That was it, that was what he would do. He'd tell her about the imposter, if anyone knew what to do, she most definitely would.

Practically scrambling out of his seat, hastily slamming his helmet back on, he headed out the classroom as inconspicuously as he could. He didn't want to arouse further suspicion. Once in the clear, he turned his brisk pace into a hurried jog. He needed to get to Chifuyu's office as soon as possible.

* * *

Chifuyu was currently enjoying a crepe that she had managed to smuggle from Class 3-2. She didn't want anyone to know about her guilty pleasure, hence the reason why she had said the crepe was for Maya when she asked for one at the stall. But like many things in life, you can't get what you want.

She jumped slightly when the door to her office flew off its hinges, smashing into the opposite wall.

"Orimura!"

The woman in question was on the edge of preparing to pummel whoever had the gall to appear unannounced and interrupt her, when she suddenly recognised the urgent voice. It was Jaeger. She wasn't expecting to see him at all. Nevertheless, she hid her surprise with a scowl. Her door had been smashed to pieces after all.

"You better have a good reason for smashing my door Jaeger."

Jaeger strode past the threshold of the room, standing in front of the unimpressed instructor.

"I do ma'am. It is a matter that requires your immediate attention."

Chifuyu's brow furrowed. "Go on."

"There's an intruder in the academy. I don't know who she is and I don't know who she works for, but I know that she's a threat. You have to deploy security to apprehend her."

"Are you sure of this?"

"Absolutely. I had Athena check the population records and the woman doesn't exist. I can only assume she's using an alias. Which means her reasons for being here are not benign."

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Where was the last place you saw her?"

"Classroom 1-1 ma'am."

"Isn't that where the cafe is? What were you doing there in the first place? Furthermore, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"That doesn't matter now, the academy is at risk and I refuse to sit back and allow this woman to cause trouble."

Chifuyu was intrigued at the SPARTAN'S determined answer. Then again, she wasn't one to turn away help. Especially when the safety of her students were in question. And her brother's.

"All right. I'll alert the instructors to deploy. Since your set on helping, I want you to find my brother, keep him safe."

Jaeger responded with a salute. "Understood ma'am."

And with that he sped out of the office, addressing Athena.

 _Athena, set a waypoint to Ichika's current location. Lock onto his bio signature._

 _Got it. His current location is in the locker room D, 500m north-east of your position._

 _Good job. Now scan the area for the intruder._

 _Understood._

…

…

…

…

 _Oh crap! Jaeger pick up the pace! She's with Ichika right now and their both alone!_

 _Dammit. I need my weapons, change of plan. We're going back to the pelican. We have no idea what this woman is capable of, so we need to be ready for anything._

* * *

Jaeger had made it back to the pelican in record time. Someone's life was at risk, so he wasn't going to take any chances. He thundered into the open cabin of the pelican, scrambling to pick up the appropriate weaponry. The SPARTAN laser from before was highly effective at disabling the IS, he didn't know for sure if the woman had one, but his instincts were telling him to take it. Which he obliged to, a soldiers instinct was rarely wrong. The only other effective weapon would be the MA5B rifle. He had outfitted the magazines with sabot rounds from the HMG earlier, so it would be effective against both armoured and non-armoured targets. With his loadout decided, he began making his way to the exit, until Athena's voice sounded through his head.

 _Jaeger, the situation has changed._

 _How so? Make it quick._

 _The woman is indeed equipped with an IS. She's currently engaged with Ichika and his friends, and there's another IS with her providing back up. The woman's IS is called 'Arcahne'. It's focus is based around agility and its frame is similar to that of a spider. The other is 'Silent Zephyrs'. It's a CQC unit but has ranged capabilities. Recommendation of attack would be rushing the enemy in regards to both units. It doesn't look good for the students at the moment._

 _Alright. Are they in the locker room?_

 _Negative, they are currently outside on the academy grounds. They're 700m away from our current position._

…

 _Then we'll take the pelican. I want you to take us there as quickly as possible. I'll do a combat jump while you provide armed overwatch._

 _Understo-_

 _What is it?_

 _We have an incoming transmission from Jorge._

 _What the hell is he doing here? Nevermind, patch him through._

…

…

 _Hey Jaeger, it's Jorge._

 _What do you want? I'm in the middle of something important._

 _I know, I heard. I'm about 400m away from the point of engagement. I'll meet you there._

 _Understood, I'll be dropping from above. Make sure you defend Orimura, he's their main target._

 _Roger that, I'll see you soon._

Jaeger didn't know what Jorge was still doing at the academy, but that didn't concern him at the moment, he had bigger problems. With a clear strategy in mind, he made his way to the cockpit, inserting Athena into the data chip slot when he was in reach. Within moments, the aircraft engines whirred to life, lifting the pelican off the ground.

The aircraft sharply turned in the presumed direction of the battle, speeding off with haste. Jaeger headed back to the open ramp, zooming his HUD to the ground below. It didn't take long for him to locate the students and the attackers. True to Athena's words, the situation was indeed not going well for the students. That was going to change. He was here now. Not to mention Jorge, who's signature he recognised. The participants hadn't spotted him, which meant he had the element of surprise on his side. Regardless, he still needed to coordinate his attack with his fellow SPARTAN.

 _Jorge, are you there?_

 _Affirmative, I've got my stealth field activated. What's the plan of attack?_

 _I'm doing a combat drop, I want you to distract the enemy while I drop from above, keep them suppressed until I land. Athena will have armed overwatch over the engagement. We engage with rush tactics, hit fast and hard. Keep them on the defensive._

 _Understood Jaeger._

With Jorge's confirmation on the plan, Jaeger jumped out of the pelican.

* * *

Ichika was thoroughly surprised when the saleswoman from the cafe attacked him. But that didn't last for long. He fought her without restraint, but he still ended up getting beaten, even with Tatenashi's training. The situation got worse when another IS appeared, which forced his friends and himself on the defensive. He thought that with his friends help, they could easily fend off their attackers, but that was proving difficult. They needed help and they needed it fast.

Ichika was currently facing off with the purple IS, who proved to be a more than capable pilot. He was kneeling from exhaustion, the surprise attack and the following engagement really took it out of him. He was in no position to move at all, which wasn't good, considering the fact that his opponent was aiming their weapon at him. Despite the cries of the girls, he couldn't bring himself to move his heavy limbs. It was inevitable to him. It was over, his shields were close to nought and it was evident that a single hit would finish him off. With this revelation, he closed his eyes preparing for the worst as the pilot fired their weapon.

Even though the shot had been fired, he didn't feel any different. In fact, it felt as if he wasn't shot at all. Curious, he opened his eyes, which subsequently widened when he saw what stood in front of him.

"You okay kid?"

Ichika could only nod at his addresser. The boy glanced around, he was safely inside the same apparition that Sev had used against his friends. It also wasn't hard to notice that his saviour wore the same armour as Sev, but it was more bulky, and presumably more advanced. It was another SPARTAN. Ichika couldn't help but wonder where the hell he came from, but he was grateful for the assist nonetheless. The titan acknowledged his answer, continuing to speak.

"That's good. Stay inside the dome, I'll take it from here."

Ichika didn't have time to respond as the super soldier stepped through the dome. They wasted no time in releasing a stream of bullets from the massive, six-barreled gun they carried at the aggressors. The two IS tried to dodge the hailstorm, returning their own attacks at the SPARTAN.

Orange light flared around the green armour, its wearer blatantly ignoring the damage they were taking.

The two aggressors both shared the same thoughts. When the purple IS pilot shot the boy, they were both shocked and angry at the sudden appearance of the behemoth. They were both unleashing monumental amounts of firepower, yet the armour-clad titan wasn't affected in the slightest. Their opponent just kept pouring out the bullets of their gun, which they irritably had to dodge. Their initial success had come to a halt.

Reiko, better known as Lady Autumn, was pissed. She was so close to getting the Byakushiki off the Orimura brat, until that Tatenashi brat got in the way. The psychotic woman's anger further rose when M appeared. She had the situation under control, she didn't need help. They both needed help now though. Another IS had come out of nowhere, putting them on the defensive. That, coupled with the fire from the other pilots forced them into the air to avoid gaining more damage. Autumn was getting frustrated more and more, so she decided to just rush the bitch who thought they could get in the way of their objective.

In mid flight, she felt a monumental force strike her back. The surprise attack had forced her into the hard ground below, breaking the dirt. That _hurt_. Her forced landing served to antagonise her even more. She wanted blood. She wanted to kill who ever had the nerve to attack her from behind.

She tried to move but found herself unable to. She glanced over her shoulder, gritting her teeth. Another IS had showed up, and whoever was piloting it was pinning her to the ground beneath their feet. Autumn struggled in vain as her attacker grabbed her exterior of her IS. She could do nothing as she was thrown roughly through the air at break neck speed, slamming into a nearby wall with a crushing force.

The other pilot, M, furrowed her brow as she looked down on the battlefield. Her wingman was currently indisposed, lodged in a concrete wall. The arrival of another IS only worsened their chances at retrieving the Byakushiki. Too deep in her frustrated thoughts, she barely had time to recognise a stream of red light heading right toward her. M only just managed to dodge, but the shot had grazed her slightly, lowering her shield at an alarming rate. Like Autumn, she was beginning to get angry. But unlike Autumn, she only glared at her opponents, who had joined one another during the time she had spent dodging the deadly beam of light. She continued to send a heated look beneath her visor as the two IS stood next to each other.

* * *

"Good job Jorge."

"Not a problem Sev, it's been a while since I've seen some action."

"Plan of attack?"

Jorge smirked under his helmet "Lay down the lead of course."

Jaeger shared the same smirk as Jorge "My thoughts exactly."

Jaeger held the SPARTAN laser in his left hand as he pulled his rifle off his back. Fully equipped and ready to unleash hell, the two SPARTANS let loose. Jorge's minigun spat bullets at an incredible speed, forcing the purple IS to take evasive manoeuvres. While he was doing so, Jaeger did the same with his rifle. Aiming at the calculated trajectory that the IS would move to. To the pilot's credit, they were doing well. Only a couple of shots managed to meet their mark. But the bullets were all a diversion.

In actuality, the two SPARTANS were keeping the pilot distracted so they wouldn't notice the building energy of the heavy laser. Their tactic worked well, as the laser reached its peak, Jaeger pulled the trigger. The beam blasted against the armour of the purple IS, a cloud of smoke blocking their view. Jaeger and Jorge glanced at each other briefly to acknowledge a job well done. Unfortunately for the super soldiers, it didn't manage to destroy the exoskeleton. When they turned their attention back to the IS, ready to continue their onslaught, they paused.

The pilot had opted to retreat instead of re-engaging them. The SPARTANS noticed the IS was holding a body in its arms. Which only meant one thing, their advanced minds processing the outcome immediately. Jaeger turned around to the girls, all of whom were standing stock still at the unbelievable battle that unfolded before them.

"All of you! Inside the shield dome with Ichika! Now!"

Broken out of their stupor, the girls ran inside the safe boundaries of the bubble shield. Once inside, Jaeger shouted out to Jorge.

"Jorge! Inside the shield, on the double!"

The addressed SPARTAN only nodded, sprinting toward the bubble shield with Jaeger. The two SPARTANS knew what was about to happen. The only logical reason why the purple IS was carrying the other pilot was because the other IS was set to self destruct. It would also work as a good distraction that would allow the attackers to escape. Their theory proved correct when the spider-like IS scuttled from the hole in the wall that it had previously been lodged into.

Once the SPARTANS were safe inside the shield, Jaeger contacted Athena.

 _Athena. Target the IS now, fire all available missiles. Destroy that thing!_

In a matter of moments, when the unmanned IS was closing in, a swarm of missile descended upon it from above. The following ball of fire indicated that Athena was successful with her attack. Thanks to Jaeger's quick thinking, Ichika and the girls were protected by the impervious bubble shield that Jorge had deployed earlier, as were the SPARTANS.

The ball of fire soon dissipated, leaving the ground scorched, but the remaining combatants relatively unharmed. The atmosphere went silent, but Jaeger still needed answers, so he spoke up to his SPARTAN brother.

"You doing alright Jorge? How's your shields?"

"Drained, but recovering. You?"

"Same here."

Jorge let out a light chuckle as he stepped toward Jaeger, slapping him on the back with an armoured hand.

"Nice work Sev. With a little work, you may be as good as me someday."

"Don't flatter yourself Jorge. Last time I checked, I came up with the strategy."

Jorge continued to laugh. "Well, I'll give you that."

Ignoring Jorge's attempt to lighten the mood, Jaeger asked the important question.

"What were you doing here in the first place Jorge? And don't say it was a social visit, we saw each other a week ago."

Sensing the seriousness of Jaeger's question, Jorge stopped his laughter. "I know that Sev. I wasn't on a social visit. In fact, I was on an errand. Doctor Shinonono sent me."

"What for Jorge?"

"She said it was a surprise."

Jaeger furrowed his brow beneath his visor. "I don't like surprises Jorge."

The Dutch SPARTAN pulled off his helmet, resting it in his arms, a smile on his face.

"Oh I think you'll like this one my friend."


End file.
